Along Came Malfoy
by leilygurl
Summary: Christmas, a dance and discussions. One very angry Hermione and one very bored Draco. what could come out of this? summary sucks..story better! R&R!
1. Into the cold Night

Ok so I have decided to start a new fanfic

_**Ok so I have decided to start a new fanfic..this of course does not mean that I will stop writing the other one, cuz I wont I promise. So hope you like this story!!**_

**Chapter 1 "Into the Cold Night"**

Hermione leaned against the railing from one of the many balconies in Hogwarts. She breathed deeply in a futile attempt to calm down.

It was cold outside; the snow was falling slowly and caring. The light dress she was wearing didn't do much to keep the cold away.

_Fraternizing with the enemy_ she thought, remembering Ron's words.

She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, trying to keep the awful scene from replaying in her mind. She kept on seeing Ron's red angry face as he told her those mean words.

Why couldn't he understand that Krum had invited her for who she was, and not just to get information about Harry from her?

Merlin, she was a girl after all! What was so wrong with attending a ball and attending it with a charming, cute and sweet man? A man that treated her with respect in such a caring way.

He had offended her so much, telling her that it wasn't possible for Victor Krum to have asked her just because of her. He said that he obviously had other intentions.

Maybe he was just mad because someone had asked her to the Christmas Ball, someone that was not him. Well if he had wanted to ask her he should have done that long time ago!

But that wasn't the worst of it. What had hurt the most was that he truly believed that she would actually give information about Harry! He believed her that stupid. As if she would blindly give things away to whomever asked her out-or so he said- just because of the fame, the attention or what she felt for Krum.

She couldn't change. And that was precisely the problem. She never had an interest in boys, fashion or even having a social life. She kept to herself. She found comfort in her books because she liked them. She liked to learn because it was something she was good at. It satisfied her. She didn't want o change. She liked herself the way she was.

And maybe Ron had gotten used to seeing her that way. Always there by his side, because to Hermione it seemed like Ron didn't see her as a girl. Maybe somewhere in the corner of his mind he knew that he was a girl, a girl that was becoming a woman.

But he was acting like if she would never change. For him she would always be a part of the trio. The brains, the one that helped with the problems and the homework, the one that never went to parties or went out wit anyone.

She understood him a bit. Although she wasn't exactly in the mood to be understanding.

But she kept on feeling a hard pain on her chest, and an annoying sting in her eyes whenever she thought about his words, his stupidity, his anger.

The way he talked without knowing the true effect of his words. And his stubbornness to keep on talking even he had figured out that he had ruined everything.

It had been a strong hit to her pride. This, of course, did not occur often. But he had managed to get to her.

She propped herself with her arms leaning against the railing, with one hand cupped around her neck.

It had been fun to play dress up. She had bought a beautiful black gown. She had even fixed her hair up, it looked perfect. Even the unusually tamed curls looked perfect today.

The snow had ceased to fall, leaving everything white. The moon shone brightly again, the stars showing of some light too.

Damn it was a beautiful night, and Ronald had ruined it.

Victor had been so kind, and she had left him inside with an excuse that held nothing but the truth. She wanted to get some air, be alone for a couple of seconds.

The fact that he had said that he would wait for her inside and that she could take as long as she wanted, only made her kinder in her eyes.

She had smiled at him, murmured a thanks, and run to the nearest terrace.

She decided she would o back to her date in a couple of minutes. She hadn't calmed down as much as she wanted. And she wasn't a fool to know that she would.

But she would go back to Victor, back to dancing, back to having fun. Ronald Weasley was so not going to ruin her night. She was simply not going to allow it.

But sometimes life tends to play us some wicked jokes. And to ruin Hermione's mood even more, Draco Malfoy had just crossed the door and walked into the balcony.

_**I love to leave cliffhanger like that..lol wuahahaha**_

_**But I guess it's not much of acliffhanger when I'v eposted the next chapter less than five minutes after thi one….so hope you enjoy!!**_


	2. Secret

Ok so I have decided to start a new fanfic

**Chapter 2 "Secret"**

_**Ok so here is the second chapter. Please review!!**_

_But sometimes life tends to play us some wicked jokes. And to ruin Hermione's mood even more, Draco Malfoy had just crossed the door and walked into the balcony._

When he noticed the presence of the girl, he adopted his usual smirk.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't mudblood. What a nice surprise." He said

Hermione's expression stayed blank. But she felt like if she was about to have a nervous breakdown. She didn't want o have an argument with the slytherin right now.

"I'll leave soon, Malfoy. But not right now. I was here first. So you can go back the way you came." She told him.

Draco's smirk became more pronounced. Something was bothering mudblood, that was evident.

"You look terrible," he commented as he too leaned against the banister, but keeping a distance between them.

She closed her eyes. But when she opened them he looked at him furiously.

Her amber eyes burned with anger, and he found himself getting lost in them for a couple of seconds.

"Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood."

The slytherin arched an eyebrow as that stupid smirk of his played around his lips again.

"And if I don't leave you alone, what will happen? Are you going to try and hit me again like in third year?" he asked her, the teasing now noticeable in his voice.

She looked at him again with a blank expression on her face. It was as if his words didn't affect her in the least. Draco found himself getting mad because of this.

"No. I have just learned that you aren't worth it." She said simply

The grey eyes of the Slytherin filled with shadows.

"And you are?" He asked her as he noticed that she held on hard to the banister with her hands, so hard that her knuckles were looking white already. And it was than that he knew that despite her blank expressions, he was getting to her.

He felt such a pleasure in teasing her. Pansy had bored him with her stupid attempts at seducing him and her non stop chatter that always lacked sense.

So Granger was a great way to distract himself.

"Apart from being a mudblood you are a know it all with no life. That's just plain pathetic, Granger. I don't know why Krum asked you to the dance, but…"

"Stop it!" she yelled furiously as she took a step towards him, determined to not let his words corner her. "What? Just because I'm a mudblood I can't be a girl too? Neither you nor… well it doesn't matter. Neither one of you knows anything either way. And I'm just tired of it."

That had wiped Draco's smirk of his face, leaving him staring at her in great surprise. He wasn't that stupid to not have noticed that Hermione was a girl. But she still was a mudblood to him, so she didn't really fit in the category, even if it was truly evident.

She was breathing hard; each breath she took was quick and short. Her black gown was simple, but it clung to her body in all the right places, and fell lose on other ones. She looked good, he decided, despite being a mudblood.

His gaze followed the curve of her neck, and up to her face. She had put some make-up on, but you could tell that the blush on her cheeks and the deep red color of her lips were all natural.

Her eyes were crystal brown, full of emotions. Emotions that Draco was surprised to see.

"Who did you argue with, Granger? You are in a horrible mood." He said slowly, trying to look indifferent.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What is it to you? Why would you care?"

"Don't get me wrong. I don't care. But I'm bored and while Pansy is calming down I have nothing else to do." He said in that off-hand tone again.

She crossed her arms over her chest as she smirked.

"So if you don't care, why should I tell you?"

He smirked back, taking pleasure in her naïveness. Wait was that a word? 'Damn' Malfoy thought.

"You aren't exactly a box full of surprises Granger. Either it was with Potter or with Weasley. That simple."

When he saw her get pale all of a sudden and her eyes widening, he knew he had hit the mark.

He got closer to her with that smirk of his still plastered on his face.

"Saint Potter would never ever dare to say such stupid words such as the ones that state that you aren't a girl. So…"

"That's not what I was told." She said

"So what was then?"

Draco looked at her directly as she pursed her lips.

"I was told that I was Fraternizing with the enemy, and that Krum had just asked me to the dance to get information about Harry."

The blonde laughed.

"Nobody else but the Weasel could have said such a big stupidity." He said

She stared at him surprised. And then Draco understood. He shouldn't have said that. He had had the perfect opportunity to laugh at her. to tell her that it was true, that Krum had come to her for information about Harry.

But instead, without knowing it, he had agreed with her. He stared back at her, unable to move. He was feeling a bit uncomfortable inside, but he never showed it.

Hermione couldn't believe that he had agreed with her. She started to study him, as she did with everything.

His expression was cold, defiant, and full of arrogance and superiority. His fine lips were tensed, and his grey eyes were dark and full of shadows, but still to bright for his pale face. His hair was a bit messed up, thanks to the long night, but it gave him a childish look that was at odds with his manly body. He wore a black tux, simple and yet you could tell it was fine, made from the best cloth ever. The contrast between his pale skin against the black cloth was shocking. He was taller than her, and he held himself with such grace and elegance, making his Malfoy heritage clear.

Dear Merlin, he was even attractive!

"Are you done with your scrutinizing?" he asked suddenly

Hermione was left speechless as she felt a small blush reach her cheeks. She frowned suddenly at the reaction he had caused on her.

"Don't think you are something your not," she told him.

"Looks have nothing to do with-" but she was interrupted.

He took one step towards her as she took one back.

"You said you were a girl Granger. Believe it or not the first thing that a woman notices before talking to a man are his looks. And whoever says it's not true is completely lying.

She was left dazed and confused, with the urge to run out of there, but she was damned if she gave him that pleasure.

"Perhaps your right, Malfoy," she said. "But you're forgeting something." She aid. His eyes were fixed on hers. "I do know you, and I do know how you are."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes." She answered as if she was bored. She tried hard to not break eye contact with him, as that would be a sign of weakness. "I do. And I can tell you that there is nothing about your looks that would change the image I have of you. Seeing you does not affect me in the least."

She couldn't do anything when he had all of a sudden closed the distance between them and held her by the wrists.

"Repeat that mudblood. Say those exact same words while I have my hand on you. Say them again with the same confidence as before, without your voice trembling." He told her fiercely as he leaned down so close to her face, his eyes never leaving hers.

She stared at him, but didn't speak a word.

After a while he smiled again in that annoying way of his, but he didn't let go of her.

"I just had an idea, Granger."

She arched an eyebrow in a silent question.

"Kiss me." He said.

'Have you gone mad?" she asked as her eyes widened.

Draco rolled his eyes, irritated.

"It's not that complicated, Granger. Besides, we will both get something out of this."

She kept on staring at him, speechless. But he could see a bit of curiosity in her eyes.

"Weasel accuses you of fraternizing with the enemy. Teach him a lesson. Make his words true." He told her with a sly smile.

"I can't do that. I mean, sure Ron is pigheaded, but…"

Draco sighed, bored.

"Granger, for once in your life do something spontaneous. I'll assure you that you won't die. For once in your life quit being the goody too shoes."

"And what do you get out of this?" she asked, still unsure.

Malfoy became so still and serious that Hermione was momentarily scared.

"Prove to you that if I wished, I could affect you. Prove to you that you are lying."

"I don't lie!"

"Prove it. You already know what to do."

What the hell, there was no one there to yell at her. No one there to help her keep her sanity. No one would see what she was doing. She sighed and all of a sudden leaned in and planted her mouth over his.

He let go of her wrists and placed his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She lifted her arms and put them around his neck as she played around with his hair. The smell of her soft perfume invaded him, clouding his senses.

He clung to her, seeking her warmth.

'How could someone so cold on the outside hold so much warmth in the inside' Hermione thought as he felt his arms tighten around her.

He was kissing her in a way that she had never been kissed before, he was showing her a path she had never followed. He was giving her passion and desire.

Hermione placed her hands on his chest and pushed hard, breaking the kiss brusquely. She placed her right hand over her moth as she gasped, she couldn't believe what she had done.

Malfoy stared at her without his usual twisted smile. She was as the desire slowly subsided from his eyes, leaving a crystalline brightness instead. A brightness that didn't last for long. She could see confusion in there too, a confusion that she felt too. She then realized that that kiss had taken the great Draco Malfoy by surprise, just the way it had happened to her. But neither of them would never admit it.

"I told you, Granger. I' can almost read in your face the sensations that are still running throughout your body."

She could only shake her head, still dumbfound.

"Go back inside, Granger. And when you look at Weasley keep in mind that he now has something to say. His words will no longer be untrue and unfair. Believe me, knowing you, they will make you feel much better."

Hermione looked at him for a couple of second before making her way to the door. He had stayed there, in the same place, standing still.

When she turned back and she fixed her eyes on the boy she realized she had just shared something with Malfoy, and felt scared.

She had shared with him a passion that she herself didn't even knew existed. Didn't even know she had.

He had shared with him one of her problems, and in a way he had listened. And maybe in a weird and twisted way, he had helped.

All of a sudden, Malfoy looked towards the doors and found Hermione there staring at him. He tensed up, but as he got lost in her amber eyes, Hermione knew that she now shared another thing with Draco Malfoy.

Now Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy shared a secret.

_**So what did you think?? Should I continue this story or should a leave it like this??**_

_**Please tell me!! Review review review…**_

_**Any suggestions are welcomed!!**_

_**Yours, **_

_**leilygurl**_


	3. Partners in Crime

Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews

_**Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews. Ok so here is chapter 3!!**_

**Chapter 3 "Partners in Crime?"**

"_Go back inside, Granger. And when you look at Weasley keep in mind that he now has something to say. His words will no longer be untrue and unfair. Believe me, knowing you, that will make you feel much better."_

It had been 3 months since the incident with Malfoy, and Hermione dram with it every night. She didn't know what was happening to her.

Since that night nothing had changed between her and Draco, much to her surprise. Well, come to think about it, things had changed a bit.

Although Malfoy and the male members of the golden trio still fought within each opportunity they had, Malfoy barely even looked at Hermione. And Hermione found herself worried about this, especially because she had always been the target of his abuse.

But when she thought about it, for her this was better, that meant less humiliation for her, so she didn't give it much importance.

Still, she couldn't figure out why she had to dream the same thing every night.

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"Hermione, are you alright?" Ginny asked her, touching her arm gently.

"Hmm?" she was snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, yes. I'm ok. Why?"

"Well, its five minutes before class starts, and well, you aren't freaking out like you usually are."

Hermione laughed lightly, but her laughter sounded fake even to her.

"Oh Ginny. Don't exaggerate." She said as she looked around. They were seating in the great hall, eating breakfast. As Hermione looked around she noticed that the huge room was almost empty. "But you are right. We have to get to class." She said getting up.

"Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yes I'm sure. Come on."

Just as they were walking out the door, someone crashed into Hermione.

"Oh I'm sorry…" she trailed of as she looked up to meat cold grey eyes. They stood for a couple of seconds like that, just staring at each other's eyes.

"Watch where you're going, mudblood." He said coldly before walking past her.

Hermione was left standing there, not knowing what to do. It had been the first time he had spoken to her in months!

But she quickly snapped out of it. She turned to Ginny.

"I have to go. See you later."

"Yeah, bye." Ginny said softly as she too left for her class.

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"Hermione, what took you so long?" was the greeting Ron gave her when she walked into Herbiology class.

"I was with Ginny." She said as she took her seat behind them.

"Hermione, are you ok?" Harry asked her, worry bright in his eyes.

Anger bubbled inside Hermione. She didn't know why, but she tried to calm herself down and gave Harry a smile.

"Yes. I'm great." She said.

Just then the professor walked into class, quieting everybody down.

"Ok class, before we begin, I would like to make and announcement. I have been informed that Professor McGonagall is holding an assembly in the great hall after class. All students must attend. Ok now to begin, please take out your books and turn to page 487…" He said.

Ron leaned over to Harry. "What do you think the assembly will be about?" he whispered.

"I have no clue."

"Probably to let us know about some other stupid rule." Hermione whispered to them. Then they all laughed.

After class was over, they were on their way to the great hall when they heard a group of girls giggling and whispering "I can't wait! I'm so excited!" a girl from the group gushed.

"I don't think this has to do with any rules." Harry said.

After the whole school was seated in their respective tables, professor McGonagall stood to address the students.

"Good morning everyone, you might all be wondering why we are here today and that is exactly what I'm going to talk about. As you may know, every year we hold a contest with another school to work on our skills. It's a student-student thing, meaning that a group of children from one school are chosen to go on this trip while four members from the other school are chosen to guide them. Each school takes turns, and this year the four guides will be from this school."

"Who do you think will be chosen?" Ron asked Hermione.

"Don't know." She answered.

"To make things fair, we have decided to ask a member from each house to join. Each time it is our turn to have guides, we put categories in a cup, from which the students are chosen. This year the category has said the most fitted academically." She said

"Meaning the smartest students." Ron said. "This means that Hermione is going to be one of them!"

"O shut up Ron." Hermione said.

"This year's four guides will be…"

"How much do you want to bet you will be picked?" Ron asked Hermione.

"From Ravenclaw, Padma Patil!" the whole house from Ravenclaw cheered for her as she got up and went to stand next to the Professor.

"From Hufflepuff, Stephen Cornfoot! His house cheered for him as he too went to stand by McGonagall.

"From Gryffindor,"

"It's going to be you…" Ron whispered into Hermione's ear.

"Hermione Granger!" her House cheered for her too. She blushed and went to stand next to Padma, but on her way there, when she passed the Slytherin table she heard Draco say, "No surprise there." And everyone that had heard him laughed.

"And last but not least, from Slytherin,"

Hermione looked at the people that had been chosen. There was one boy and two girls, herself included.

So it was logical that the person from Slytherin would be a boy. And the only boy that Hermione could think of that was remotely smart was… oh no.

"Draco Malfoy!"

Oh yes.

His house went wild, each and everyone congratulating their prince.

He came to stand next to Hermione, walking in that slow way of his. It was like he knew exactly where he was going, but he was in no hurry to get there, the world could wait for him.

"Hello, Granger." He said slowly.

Hermione only nodded once.

"Congratulations. Now everyone get back to your classes. After your last class I would like to see the four of you in my office." McGonagall said as she walked away.

Everyone stood form their tables and started to walk to their classes. As she approached her friends, every Gryffindor that she walked past congratulated her. She smiled brightly to all of them.

"See, I told you they would pick you!" Ron said once she had reached her friends.

"Congratulations Hermione." Harry said, giving her a pat on the back. She smiled at him.

"Yeah, nicely done. Now we all know who the smartest people from school are." Ginny laughed.

"But Malfoy?!" Ron asked.

"You have to give it to him, the guy is smart." She said shrugging.

"Yeah that's true." Ginny added, much to Ron's unhappiness.

"Whatever. Let's get to class." He said walking faster.

The day passed in a blur. Despite her best efforts, Hermione couldn't concentrate at all.

She was in Potions class, a class which they shared with the Slytherin house.

She was sitting in her usual seat taking some notes when she got the strange feeling that someone was watching her. She looked back to meet a blonde's cold grey eyes.

She thought that after she had caught him watching her, he would look away. But instead Draco smiled at her. If you could even call it a smile, since it was so small. After looking at him for a while, that smile of his began to look sort of threatening, or was that just her imagination?

She shuddered and looked away swiftly, feeling as confused as she had that night, the night they had shared so many things.

Thankfully, that was also her last class. After Snape had dismissed class, Hermione was gathering all her things when Ron and Harry came over to her.

"Are you going to McGonagall's office now?" Harry asked her.

"Yeah."

"Want us to walk you there?" Ron asked.

"Nah, its ok. I'll just see you guys later."

They said goodbye at the door and walked in opposite ways.

The walk from her class to McGonagall's office wasn't long, but it wasn't exactly short either.

She was the only one walking those long and dark corridors, or so she thought.

It wasn't long until the noise of someone else's footsteps pulled Hermione out of her thoughts. She wanted to look back, to see who it was, but before she could someone called out her name, and she was pretty sure it came from the person walking behind her.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Draco walking about 5 feet behind her.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Nothing. I just thought it would be civil to ask you to walk with me since we are both going to the same place he said without looking at her."

She resumed her walking, now with him on her side.

"So…"

"So what?" she asked.

He laughed. "How have you been, Granger? Haven't bumped into anyone these past hours?"

She could feel herself getting irritated.

"No I haven't, thank God. Though I was wishing I could."

"Why? So you could pretend you were bumping into me?"

She snorted. "Yeah, right. So I could actually pretend I hadn't bumped into you."

"Oh come on, Granger. I thought we had already settled that that's not the effect I cause on you." He said coolly.

Hermione didn't know how to respond to that one.

"What, the great mudblood Granger is lost at words? That's shocking."

When Hermione still didn't answer he laughed softly. "That's what I thought."

They had reached McGonagall's office already, so Hermione didn't even bother responding to that one.

Draco opened the door, stood to a side and gestured for Hermione to walk through. When Hermione hesitated, he smiled, shrugged and walked past, the door almost hitting Hermione. She took a deep breath to calm her fury and then went inside.

The professor was sitting at her desk, with four chairs in front of her, three of which were already occupied.

"Thank you for joining, us Miss Granger." The professor said as Hermione sat down

Hermione blushed and gave the professor and embarrassed smile.

"Ok first I would like to congratulate all of you again," after the four student had muttered their thank-yous the professor continued.

"This year, the events will be hosted in Australia, which means that you will, of course, travel there. Since there will not be many children, they will be separated into four groups, each will have at least 8 children."

"So we are basically going to baby-sit," Draco said.

McGonagall looked at him sternly. "You will be the roll model of this young children, they will look up to you, and you must give them your help if they ask for it." Sh etold him.

'Baby-sit' Malfoy thought with a sigh. 'It's a bloody camp where we will baby-sit."

"There are, however, only two cabins for the children. You will be sleeping in the children's cabins but in separate rooms. Each cabin will have what they call a 'mother' and 'father' or 'brother' and 'sister' depending on them. That is the reason why we choose two boys and two girls. Each cabin will have a girl and a boy. Now, the way we are going to assign this is--"

But she couldn't finish talking because all of a sudden Padma jumped up and said, "I'm with Stephen!"

The professor looked so startled, but after a second she looked at Stephen, who was smiling shyly. "Is that alright with you?" McGonagall asked.

After another shy smile Stephen nodded.

"Ok, so that meant that Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy are together"

"What!" they both yelled in at the same time.

"What you heard. Now go pack your things. You leave tomorrow at six a.m. There will be a carriage waiting for the four of you at the front of the school. See you tomorrow, children." She said as she shooed them out of her office.

Padma and Stephen started together towards the great hall, since it was time for dinner. Hermione looked over at Draco, who gave her a dirty look. He shook hi head and muttered something before he too made his way to the great hall.

Hermione wasn't hungry though. She actually felt sick so she went to the Gryffindor tower.

Once she said the password to the lady in the portrait, she walked into the common room to find Neville sitting in one of the sofas.

"Hi, Hermione." He said when he saw her come in.

"Hi, Neville." She said as she dropped into the sofa facing Neville.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

All of a sudden Hermione told him every thing that had just happened.

"Wow," he said.

"Yeah," Hermione sighed. Wow didn't even cover it.

"So you will be partners in crime." He said with a weird smile.

"Excuse me? Partners in crime?"

"Yeah, you and Malfoy. Partners in crime."

"Neville, what are you talking about?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "Don't know. I just heard it once and wanted to say it. I thought this would be the right time, but I guess its not.

'Guess not,' Hermione thought.

_**Wow! That was almost eight pages!! So what do you thin?? If there was something you didn't understand please let me know ok. **_

_**Review. Review. Review!!**_

_**Any ideas are welcomed!!**_

_**Yours,**_

_**leilygurl**_


	4. Kiss Goodbye?

Ok so I know I have taken some time to update

_**Ok so I know I have taken some time to update..and im terribly sorry for this..but I've been a bit busy. But anyways..yes!! I plan on continuing this story I promise…and thank for your patience and your reviews…lol yea I liked the whole partners in crime too, I read it in a book and I liked it so much that I had to somehow fit it into the story. Lol anyways…back to the story!!**_

**Chapter 4 "Kiss Goodbye?"**

"_So you will be partners in crime." He said with a weird smile. _

"_Excuse me? Partners in crime?"_

"_Yeah, you and Malfoy. Partners in crime."_

"_Neville, what are you talking about?"_

_He shrugged sheepishly. "Don't know. I just heard it once and wanted to say it. I thought this would be the right time, but I guess its not." _

'_Guess not,' Hermione thought_

She sighed and smiled at him.

"Good night Neville." She said as she got up.

"Night Hermione."

She smiled again and turned to walk up to the girl's dormitory when she heard Neville speak to her.

"Hey Hermione, don't take it too seriously ok? I mean, sometimes life will give you hard moments, but that's the point, you have to learn to work with them." He said while he gave her a small but warm smile.

Hermione arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure I understand." She said at last.

Neville shrugged.

"Well, this time in your life you have a problem right? It's Malfoy. Just learn to work with him and who knows, you might end up enjoying his company." He said

Hermione snorted. "I doubt it."

"Don't ever doubt anything, Hermione." He said looking away. "I'm not saying you will become best friends, but at least you won't have such a horrible time."

Hermione shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you are right. Thanks Neville, you know for listening."

"You're welcome, Hermione. That's what friends are for, right?"

Hermione smiled at him. "Right." She said as she turned once again.

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_Work with the problem, work with the problem, work with the problem. _That became Hermione's chant since she got up that morning.

Thankfully she hadn't dram anything the night before, so in her opinion she had rested pretty well. She had never thought of dreams being tiring, but somehow dreams in which Malfoy starred where exhausting.

She shook her head, trying to shake off the eerie feeling she felt. She stood alone in the front steps of the school, her bags around her.

She looked at the sky and sighed. It was still dark, and cold. The weather signaling exactly how she felt.

She then heard voices coming from the hallway.

¨Are you sure you will be ok, Drake??¨ She heard the annoying voice of Pansy Parkinson.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

¨Shut up, Parkinson.¨ she heard Malfoy´s lazy and annoyed drawl.

¨I'm going to miss you so much! ¨ Pansy continued.

Suudenly Hermione couldn't hear their footsteps anymore. She then heard something drop to the floor. Something heavy.

She looked into the hallway and saw all Draco´s suitcase on the ground. Then she looked up to find Draco and Pansy in a compromising position. They were half standing halfway almost to the floor, their mouths together as if they were trying to suck eachother´s faces off.

¨Ugh.¨ Hermione said. ¨Cant you two get a room?¨

When Pansy heard Hermione's voice she pulled part from Draco so fast that Draco almost fell face first into the ground.

He turned to look at Hermione with a furious expression.

Hermione did her best not to laugh, and yet a small smile tugged at her lips.

¨Mudblood.¨ Draco said in a low voice.

¨Ferret.¨ she answered in the same cold tone.

¨Um, I think I'm going back to the common room.¨ Pansy said giving Hermione a glare as she walked up to Draco to kiss him on the cheek.

Hermione saw the disgust on Draco´s face as he pulled away from Pansy.

Pansy sulked and left pouting, leaving a staring contest between Draco and Hermione.

¨Wow.¨ Hermione said with fake admire.

¨Wow, what?¨ Draco said in his bored voice as he leaned down to get his suitcase.

¨Nothing. I'm just surprised. I wonder how much more she is going to take before she gets tired of your arrogance.¨ Hermione said as she to started to walk towards the stairs.

Draco shrugged, not really caring. ¨I'm her world.¨ he said as if that explained everything.

¨Than why do you treat her like that?¨ Hermione asked.

¨Because.¨ he answered simply.

¨Because what?¨

¨Why do you care?¨ he asked suddenly.

They stared at each other for what seemed a million years.

¨Don't get me wrong.¨ she said, remembering his words from that night. ¨I don't care. I'm just really bored and I'm looking for some entertainment.¨

Those words sounded familiar to Draco, and even though those hadn't been the same words he had used, it still bothered him that he was using those things against him.

But he was so not going to show her that. So instead of smacking her, as it was his first instinct, he smirked that smirk that he knew would push Hermione off the edge.

Hermione´s eyes narrowed, sensing what he was trying to do.

So she smiled an impersonal smile and leaned against the wall, staring at the dark sky again.

Draco stood there confused. He hadn't expected that from her. He had expected, he wanted for her to explode in anger. But instead she treated him coldly, as if he didn't matter.

That made him go crazy. That pushed _him_ off the edge. He felt like kicking himself for letting that stupid mudblood get to him.

He took a few deep breaths and sat down on the stairs, staring at nothing and at the same time at everything, just not at Hermione.

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It seemed like an eternity to Hermione before Padma and then Stephen walked into the front of the school. They sat close to each other on the stairs, whispering and laughing occasionally.

´At least someone is having a good time´ Hermione thought to herself as McGonagall stepped through the door.

¨Good morning, children.¨ she said in that fast way of hers.

´I wonder if she will still call as children when we are 40, just because we are younger than her. But then again, that old witch might not be alive anymore´ Draco thought to himself and suddenly burst out laughing.

¨What's so funny, Mr. Malfoy?¨ McGonagall asked crossing her arms.

¨Nothing.¨ Draco answered and looking away, a faint smile still at his lips.

He then caught Hermione´s eyes. She shook her head at him with a bemused look on her face before turning away to listen to what the professor was saying.

Once again, Draco resisted the urge to walk up to her and smack her. He contented himself with doing it in his mind. Then he shook his head, remembering that he shouldn't have Hermione in his thoughts at all.

¨Stupid Granger¨ he muttered before tuning in to what McGonagall was saying.

¨So the carriage will take you to the train station. You will go into the Muggle world and will take an airplane to Australia.¨

¨Wait, what?¨ Draco asked, sure that he had heard wrong.

¨What part did you not understand, Malfoy?¨ Hermione asked him with a bored expression on her face.

¨The part where I have to see more of your kind, Granger.¨ he snapped back.

¨Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger, behave yourselves!¨ the professor told them in a strong voice.

Draco smirked at Hermione and she resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him.

¨Do you have a problem with going into the Muggle world, Mr. Malfoy?¨

¨Hell, yeah!¨

¨Well, then that´s too bad.¨ the professor said looking away from him.

Hermione smirked at him, and Draco just did his best to not look at her.

¨Well then, that settled, ¨ the professor continued. ¨Here is you r carriage.¨

Suddenly there was a black carriage behind them.

¨Have a nice trip, children.¨ McGonagall said before turning around and walking back into the castle.

Padma giggled as Stephen held open the carriage door for her. She took hold of Stephen´s hand as she stepped into the carriage. Then he looked over at Hermione. She smiled at him as she too grabbed his hand and stepped inside.

Draco found himself getting annoyed because of this. Stephen stepped inside too and sat by Padma, forcing Draco to sit next to Hermione.

Hermione sat as close to the window as she could. And Draco made a show of sitting as far away from her as he could. Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

They rode in silence for a while, until Hermione, bored out of her mind turned to talk to Padma only to find her snogging Stephen.

She felt like laughing.

She turned to look at Draco to find his staring at the couple in pure disgust.

Then she did laugh. But the noise was so soft that the couple wasn't disturbed, but Draco did hear it.

¨What are you laughing at?¨ he asked incredulously.

¨Your face.¨ Hermione answered with a smile still on her lips.

¨What about it?¨

¨I don't know, just the way you are looking at them though. But do0nt feel to bad, usually the scenes you put up are much worse.¨ she said looking away.

They were whispering, as to not disturb the very happy and out of service for the moment people.

Draco laughed. Hermione turned to look at him with a an arched eyebrow.

¨What?¨ she asked.

Draco shrugged. ¨How do you think we looked?¨

Hermione flushed with anger, or at least that is what she told herself. Truly she was embarrassed.

¨Not like you usually look wit your sluts.¨ she snapped.

That only made Draco laugh harder, this time the noise did disturb Padma and Stephen, causing them to draw apart.

Hermione thanked Draco silently, she had worried that if they hadn't separated soon, they would run out of air, and Hermione would have to deal with two corpses.

Padma was blushing scarlet red, the same as Stephen. Draco smirked at them and in his slow draw he said. ¨Are you guys finished, or would you like us to ride on the horses so you two can ride each other.¨

Stephen´s face was no longer flushed because of the need of air, but it was now because of anger.

Hermione sort of expected to see what happened next, but she had wished that it would only be her imagination.

Stephen suddenly lunged at Draco, and soon enough punches were flying all over the place.

Padma was pressed in the corner, yelling at the boys to stop. But Hermione was so not going to sit there and yell. So she took out her wand.

She muttered a spell and suddenly both boys were as still as a rock, only their eyes moving.

¨I'll remove the spell if you two promise to sit down, shut up and stay calm.¨ Hermione said. ¨Or you can ride to the train station like this.¨

Both boys tried to shake their heads up and down. But only succeeded in moving their eyes.

Hermione felt like laughing again at the scene in front of her. But she restrained.

Instead she pointed her wand at them and said the counter spell.

They both got up slowly, their eyes never leaving each other. Then they sat down, and both looked out the window. Hermione smiled at herself and lay back on the seat, closing her eyes.

_**Ok so I realize this chapter doesn't say much, and the good stuff is coming up I promise. Just wait a second. I wasn't planning on updating this week, considering that I didn't have much time. But I wanted to have something for you. **_

_**So I will probably have the next chapter up by Saturday. In the meantime be patient and review!!**_

_**Yours,**_

_**Leilygurl**_


	5. Flight Incident

So I know I said I would update Saturday, but I couldn't help it

_**So I know I said I would update Saturday, but I couldn't help it. I had to post up sooner!!**_

_**So here it is. I do think this one is going to be that long, and it might not have so much action, but I just got the idea of it, and I thought it would bring some humor into the story. **_

**Chapter 5 ¨Flight Incident**

The four of them were standing in the middle of the crowded airport, deciding were to go next. Hermione looked at her boarding ticket.

It said that their flight would leave in about half an hour. So Hermione started to walk toward the information center, to ask where they had to wait for their flight.

¨Where are you going, mudblood?¨ Draco asked as he pulled Hermione from the arm. Hermione laughed at his expression. 

¨Relax, Malfoy. Nothing will happen to you. Follow me.¨ she said shaking her arm free.

The four of them made their way to the information center. And the lady told them that they could wait for their plane in the waiting room A. and that their flight would be in Gate 13 A.

Hermione nodded and thanked the Woman.

¨This way.¨ she muttered to them. They got to the waiting room and sat quietly, to wait.

Finally, their flight was announced on the intercom. So they got up to board the plane.

They got in line and all showed their boarding tickets to the man standing at the gate.

They kept close together, since all of their seats would be together.

Hermione checked her seat number and looked up to find Draco seating on her seat.

¨Move it, Malfoy. That is my seat.¨

¨Oh come on, Granger. I sat down already. Just take the other seat.¨ he said with a bored tone.

¨I said move!¨ Hermione tried not to yell, but she wasn't succeeding.

Draco smirked, but scoot a seat over. Hermione wouldn't have fought for the seat if Padma and Stephen weren't already starting to kiss. So she decided to sit on the one next to the corridor. Stephen was by the window, then it was Padma, then Malfoy and finally Hermione.

She sighed a happy and relaxed sigh as she put the headphones on.

The flight was pretty calm except when Malfoy kept on flirting with the flight attendants and vice versa. It was good that it wasn't too long before they arrived to Australia.

¨Granger.¨ Draco called.

But Hermione appeared to be asleep. It had been a while since she had taken the earphones off.

After a while of him waiting for her to answer him, he started to really look at her.

He compared how she looked now to how she had looked over the years. And to how she had looked at the dance.

She had changed a lot. He had to admit that she had looked beautiful at the dance. But she hadn't looked like herself. At the dance she had looked like a doll. A doll that he was sure she wasn't.

Right now she was wearing jeans and a plain see trough black shirt with a black spaghetti-strap underneath, that only came to her bellybutton.

The jeans weren't tight, but they did allow him to see her curves. Her mass of brown hair was as while as ever, but most of the frizz had left, leaving soft curls.

Suddenly that playful smirk of his appeared on his lips. His eyes never leaving her, he leaned down and kissed Hermione on the cheek.

Hermione reacted quickly. She hadn't been asleep. But she hadn't expected that from Draco.

¨What the hell are you doing, Malfoy?¨ she exclaimed.

If he wanted to have some fun, he could have it with someone else. There were five flight attendants out there. So he could leave her alone.

But then Malfoy started to laugh. That tipped Hermione off. Who the hell did he think he was?

¨What's so funny? I don't see the humor in it.¨ she said angrily.

¨I knew you weren't asleep. You should have seen your face!¨ he said, still laughing, but softer now.

¨Can I give you some advice, Malfoy? From brightest with of the century to...well you?

Malfoy arched an eyebrow, but nodded yes.

¨It seems to me like you have a bad case of stupidity. You should really look for help.¨

Malfoy frowned, anger coloring his face. Was she calling him stupid.

´Oh hell no´ Draco thought.

¨Where are you getting at, mudblood.¨ he said

Hermione rolled her eyes.

¨Its simple. You look much cuter with your mouth shut.¨ she answered, matching his bored tone.

Malfoy laughed teasingly.

¨I think you are too.¨ he answered her.

¨Are you asking me to shut up?¨ she asked.

¨No. I'm begging you to shut up.¨ he snapped.

Beg? She thought that Malfoys didn't beg.

¨I can now die in peace. I have seen it all… are you begging me, Malfoy?¨ she asked, putting an emphasis on the word.

¨Well you already know where the door is.¨

¨What?¨ she asked, not understanding.

¨If you can already die, then you know where the door is. You know, so you can jump. I'm sure it will be a beautiful fall.¨ he said with his smirk.

¨Stupid.¨ she said.

¨Little girl.¨

¨Idiot.¨

¨Bitch.¨

¨Promiscuous.¨

¨Nun¨

¨Impotent¨

¨Bushy—wait what? Repeat that if you dare.¨ he said threatening Hermione after he realized what she had said.

¨Im-Po-te-nt¨ she said slowly with a smile on her lips.

¨You wish you could actually fell what I am capable of Granger. Good thing it would never occur to me to do such thing.¨

¨Let us thank God for those small details.¨ she said sarcastically.

Draco snorted. He wanted to get off that stupid plate, flate, play. Fuck whatever the damn Muggle thing was named.

¨Besides, before having sex with you I would do it with a dog. The result would be the same either way.¨ she continued.

¨You don't know what you are saying, Granger. You have no idea…¨

_Ladies and gentlemen we are going to land in a few minutes so if you could please put your seatbelts on. Remember that if something of yours doesn't work, you can ask for assistance. _ Was announced over the intercom.

¨That one was for you Malfoy. In case something of yours doesn't work. Although I think that the poor flight attendants can't do anything about. Yours is a lost case.¨ Hermione said laughing¨

¨Shut up, Granger.¨ Draco answered, anger ringing in every word he said.

Suddenly the plane jerked and moved a bit, making Draco tense up and press himself hard against the seat.

Hermione had to bite her tongue to not laugh. He wasn't scared with his broomstick, but he was with an airplane.

¨Does this happen a lot, Granger?¨ Draco asked without looking at her.

It took a bit for Hermione to answer. She did her bets to not laugh. So when she could talk to him she did it with a scared expression across her face.

¨Actually Malfoy, I wouldn't know. I have been on an airplane very few times, and this had never happened to me.¨ she said innocently.

¨What!¨ Draco said, the panic now visible.

Was he going to die? Just like that?

¨Oh my god! Why us?¨ Hermione sobbed into her hands.

¨Granger, tell me we are not going to crash!¨ Padma said from across Draco.

Hermione forgot that they would be listening. She looked at Draco. He was looking intently at the ground, probably praying.

So Hermione winked at Padma, to let her know what she was doing. Padma caught on fast.

¨Oh God No!¨ she sobbed throwing herself at Stephen. He had seen the whole wink thing, so he smiled and buried his face into Padma´s neck.

Draco looked over at Hermione, her hands still covered her face, but now her shoulders were shaking.

Draco grabbed her by the shoulders.

¨Granger—Merlin!¨ he said when another jerk was felt.

Now, Draco, almost desperate, pulled Hermione´s hands from her face. He was expecting tears. But instead he found her face red, red because of the laughter she was trying to keep inside.

¨Why…¨ Draco began when all of a sudden another message was said through the intercom.

_You can now unfasten your seatbelts. You can now get up. Don't forget your baggage. We have landed in Sydney. Welcome!_

Hermione, now unable to keep the laughter in started to laugh so hard that she could barely stand.

¨You should have seen your face!¨ Hermione said between breaths.

Draco felt as the anger and humiliation coursed through his entire body. How could he be so stupid as to believe her?

¨You crossed the line, Granger.¨ he said dryly as he got up, took his jacket and started to walk to the door.

¨Wait Malfoy!¨ Hermione said. Still laughing. she was followed by a laughing Stephen and Padma.

Once they got off, they went to get their suitcases. All the way Hermione, Padma and Stephen kept on laughing, making jokes about it.

¨That's enough!¨ Draco exploded suddenly.

¨I'm sorry Malfoy, I just couldn't help it.¨ she said, trying to get her breath back.

¨Malfoy?¨ a man asked.

The four of them turned to look at a tall dark man. Draco nodded once.

¨And you are?¨ Draco asked.

¨Oh right. My name is Oscar. I'm here to pick up the four Hogwarts students to take them to camp Wazkentis.¨ he said in a thick accent.

¨Wonderful! I'm Hermione.¨ Hermione said offering her hand.

Padma and Stephen did the same.

After that the four of them stood, staring at Malfoy.

¨What?¨ he asked.

¨Malfoy, introduce yourself.¨ Hermione said in a loud whisper.

¨For what? He already knows my name.¨ he said slipping his sunglasses on.

Dear God!, Hermione thought.

¨Forgive him.¨ she said looking at Oscar. ¨It's just that flying on airplanes doesn't suit Wizards very much.¨

Although Draco´s eyes were hidden behind the glasses, Hermione was sure they were full of anger.

¨It's ok. So if we are ready, can we go?¨ He asked.

¨Of course.¨ Hermione answered.

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About an hour later, Hermione was stepping out of the car and staring at a beautiful blue lake.

¨Wow.¨ she breathed.

The four students made their way to the main office, that was where Oscar had directed them.

¨Good Evening.¨ the lady behind the counter said brightly. ¨Welcome to the wizard camp, Wazkentis!¨

_**ok so there it was. I will post up the next chapter on Saturday, and that on I hope will be more interesting. So please review and let me know if its good or if it sucks. **_

_**Review. Review. Review!!**_

_**Yourls,**_

_**Leilygurl. **_


	6. Camp Wazkentis

_**Ok people so give me a break. I know I said I would post up Saturday, but to tell you the truth the reason why I posted two chapters in one day was because I was fairly sure I wouldn't meet the deadline. I know im evil for not mentioning it, but deal with it. **_

_**If you all care to know why I didn't post well, its because in Mexico, where I'm currently living a hellish life, we celebrate mother's day on the 10**__**th**__** of May, so I was out partying. Haha. Anyways. Back to the story**_

_**O wait, before I would like to thank all the alerts, favorites and reviews, they truly made my day, and also made me feel horrible for not doing what I promised, but I guess I deserved that. But okay enough with the drama. XD**_

**Chapter 6 "Camp Wazkentis"**

_About an hour later, Hermione was stepping out of the car and staring at a beautiful blue lake._

_¨Wow.¨ she breathed._

_The four students made their way to the main office, that was where Oscar had directed them._

_¨Good Evening.¨ the lady behind the counter said brightly. ¨Welcome to the wizard camp, Wazkentis!¨_

'What a stupid name.' Draco thought with a smirk. Why in the world would someone name a camp like that? **(A/N lol. Ok so I couldn't help that. See I criticize my own work. I don't know where that name came from, but I couldn't think of anything else. :p) **

"Thank you." They all said in unison.

"You may call me Ms. Johnson." The lady said again with a smile. "You must be Hermione, Padma, Stephen and Draco." She said pointing at each of them.

They nodded and smiled. Well except for Draco. He was still in his mood, figuring out ways he could get to Hermione.

"So I assume you want to get a bit cleaned up before dinner." Ms. Johnson said. "So I will show you to your cabins."

The four students followed the Professor as she led them to their cabins.

All the way their Hermione kept on repeating how beautiful everything was. She couldn't believe it. The camp was huge, surrounded by tall trees, all of them with beautiful flowers growing on them.

There were two rather large cabins. They were both painted a light brown, but what differenced them was the door. One was blue and the other green.

Padma and Stephen were the first to get dropped off. Ms. Johnson gave them some instructions and then they continued to wlak to where Hermione's and Draco's cabin was.

When they got there, Ms. Johnson gave them the same talk and directions.

"Your room will be the door at the end of the hall. The other one are the showers. There is a bathroom for the girls, and one for the boys. Just like the dormitories. You will be sharing the Leaders bathroom. It is in your dormitory. I assume you will find everything you need, but in case you don't, come and see me at my office." Ms. Johnson said.

"The children will arrive in two days." She continued. "So you have the place to yourself. That way you can get used to everything."

Hermione nodded. Draco just grunted in acknowledgement, but was still sulking about the fact that he had to share a room _and _a bathroom with the mudblood.

After the professor walked off, Hermione pushed the heavy wooden door open. She came to what seemed like a common room. There were sofas and beanbag chairs around. There was a large table that Hermione assumed was used for a desk, since there were eight chairs around it and there were some books and notebooks sitting neatly on the surface.

"I'm going to take a shower." Draco said absently as he made his way to the leaders' dormitory.

Hermione looked after him, shrugged and continued to explore the cabin.

There were two bookcases that reached the ceiling; opposite of them was a large window. Or rather a wall made of glass. Hermione gasped as she saw the view. It faced the forest, but she could hear a river near by.

She then walked into the girls' dormitory. There were four beds, the four of them pushed against one wall and also facing the large glass wall. At the foot of each bed was a trunk. The sheets of the beds were the color of a soft green with the pillows white.

Between each bed was a night stand with a small white lamp on it. It was all very nice decorated.

In the middle of the room was a large white fluffy carpet. The walls were painted a light lime green.

'It's so cozy' Hermione thought as she walked into the boys' dormitory.

It was pretty much the same, except their sheets were blue as was their carpet and walls. But the glass wall was the same.

Across the hall were two more doors. One said Girls, and the other said Boys.

Hermione pushed the door open to the girls' bathroom. There were four stalls against on wall. Across from it were the sinks. There were four of them all in what looked like a table, but was stuck to the wall. There were four glass cups, one to the right of each sink. Above each sink there was a round mirror, the frame painted a white. Right underneath the mirrors was a soap stand which contained a small rounded green soap.

Behind the door and next to the sinks was a large closet which contained supplies for the restroom. There were also towels, soaps and shampoos.

She then walked to the showers. There were four doors, she opened one and saw that the shower was nothing out of the ordinary. It was rather small. With a shrug she walked out of the girls' bathroom.

She only peeked her head in into the boys' bathroom. She confirmed that it was all the same. She then started to make her way to the leaders' dormitory, wondering if she should knock, in case Malfoy was there, well, getting dressed.

But she found the door open, so she walked in.

The Leaders' dormitory was almost as big as the common room. Against one wall were two beds. They were queen sized, Hermione was happy to see. There was a nightstand on either side of the beds. There were also small carpets on each side of the beds and a large trunk was at the foot of each bed. There were two sofas, one of two and one of three next to the fireplace, with a small coffee table in the middle. The glass wall was across the beds too. To the left of the door was a door, which Hermione was sure was the bathroom.

It was closed and she could still hear the shower going.

She sighed, went for her thing at the common room, returned to her dormitory, chose the bed closest to the fireplace and started to put her things away in the trunk.

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Half an hour later Draco and Hermione were making their way to the common cabin, which was where the dinning hall was and also where most of the meeting were held.

There were however other cabins, such as one for potions, etc.

´It is just like Hogwarts´ Draco thought. ´Except there are cabins instead of rooms in a castle.´

Draco mostly kept quiet, which was a relief to Hermione. She was seriously regretting having kissed him at the dance. No matter how great it had felt at the time.

That thought shocked Hermione.

´It felt great to do something random´ she tried to convince herself. ´Not the fact that I kissed my enemy.´

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Dinner was rather quiet, since it was only the four Hogwarts students eating in the great hall.

It had been a long day, and Hermione planned to rest the two days she had free while waiting for the children.

She half smiled thinking of the warm huge bed that was waiting for her back at her dormitory.

Draco arched an eyebrow, but she chose to ignore him. As she would for the whole time that they would be in that camp.

Or so she thought.

_**Ok so this was a rather boring chapter I know. Not really the way to make up to you guys for not posting when I said I would.**_

_**But this chapter was only to somehow create the picturein your mind of how the camp looked. **_

_**I am currently taking a Creative Writing course in my scool. You might be wondering what this has to do with it. But my teacher nicely pointed out to me that I don't do enough explaining in my writings. That I don't create a visual. **_

_**So take this Ms. Carlson!! Bwuahaha.**_

_**Anyways, I will have the next chapter up either by today or by tomorrow. Don't reallyknow. But it will be soon. **_

_**And I do have a huge surprise for all of you since you have been so patient. **_

_**You don't have to review on this chapter, since it sucked. But it would still make my day if you did! Lol**_

_**Yours,**_

_**leilygurl**_


	7. Surprises

So with no more entertaining, here is the story

_**So with no more entertaintment**__**, here is the story!!**_

**Chapter 7 ¨Surprises¨**

_It had been a long day, and Hermione planned to rest the two days she had free while waiting for the children._

_She half smiled thinking of the warm huge bed that was waiting for her back at her dormitory._

_Draco arched an eyebrow, but she chose to ignore him. As she would for the whole time that they would be in that camp._

_Or so she thought._

The two days passed in a blur. Hermione had used her time to rest, explore the huge camp and ignore Draco as best as she could.

Like the previous night, Hermione heard the trumpet that announced it was time to wake up. That meant that it was six thirty in the morning.

¨Finally¨ Hermione muttered to herself as she kicked the covers off. She had been awake in bed waiting for that stupid trumpet to sound for a bout and hour and a half.

She quickly got up, did her bed, took one look at what seemed like a still sleeping Draco and made her way to the bathroom.

She took a quick shower, the scent of her shampoo giving her certain calm.

She was excited to get to know the kids. They would be arriving today in an hour.

She quickly stepped into her clothes. She didn't know what exactly she was supposed to wear since they hadn't been given a uniform. So she decided to dress in black jeans and a white tank top. She smiled, remembering that she would have never been able to wear such clothes in London, due to the cold. But in Australia, it was rather warm.

She brushed her hair, combing it back into a ponytail, and brushed her teeth.

When she walked out of the bathroom she saw that Draco had already gotten up. She noted with a lot of surprise that his bed was done.

Hermione couldn't really believe that he had done it by himself, and then she remembered that they were wizards, and that magic did almost everything.

She shrugged as she put her shoes on, and slipped a light zip up white sweater on.

She tried to avoid looking at Draco, but she failed miserably. At that moment he was changing his clothes. He had already put his jeans on when Hermione had stepped out of the bathroom, but he was now in the process of changing his shirt.

Hermione found herself staring at his perfect chest. She tried to look away fats, but not fast enough.

Draco had caught her.

¨You are starting to look at me that way more often now,¨ he said, not looking at her. But his smirk was in place. ¨I will tolerate it to a certain degree. But watch yourself.¨ he said making his way to the bathroom.

Hermione got up quickly, trying to hide her blush. Did she really stare at him that often? And exactly how was she looking at him?

´Nah,´ she thought. ´He is just trying to mess with me´

She grabbed her wand from her bed and placed in her cuff, where she always kept it.

¨Move it, Malfoy. We have to go.¨ she said knocking loudly on the bathroom door.

¨Geez, Granger. Have some patience will ya? She heard his muffled reply.

¨Malfoy, no matter how hard you try, there is nothing you can do to your damn hair!¨ she said, trying to force him out of the bathroom.

At that moment the bathroom door swung open. ¨I know, Granger. My hair is perfect, so there is nothing else to do to it.¨ he said with his little smirk.

Hermione snorted. ¨Just hurry up, ok?¨ she said, exhausted from fighting with him already.

¨Yes, mother,¨ he muttered.

¨What?¨ Hermione asked, turning to him.

¨I said lets go.¨ Draco said quickly as he made his way to the door.

They had to eat breakfast in a hurry, since the kids would be almost arriving.

After they were done, the four students made their way to the main office to meet with Ms. Johnson.

¨Good morning!¨ She said as they walked in. ¨Are you excited for today?¨ she asked.

They all nodded yes with a smile on their faces.

¨Great! So the children will be soon getting here. You have to wait for them at the entrance along with the other staff. Then we will move on to the great hall to place the kids and go over your schedules, ok?¨

Once again, the four of them nodded. Suddenly a noise came from outside.

¨Oh, they are here!¨ the professor said clapping her hand together. ¨Now remember, you will be these kids´ role models. So make sure you model good!¨ she said walking out of the cabin.

At that moment Draco laughed softly. When Hermione turned to look at him, she soon regretted it. For that playful smirk of his was back.

¨I doubt you can model, Granger. But I would be happy to give you some classes. So why don't you come by my cabin tonight and we can change your clothes and you can start modeling while I watch.¨ he said.

Hermione rolled her eyes. ¨Grow up, Malfoy¨ she said as she too, walked out of the cabin.

Draco did not like that response. Not because of what she said, but of what she didn't say. He was expecting her to yell, to even hit him.

It seemed to him like he was doing a lot of that often. Expecting things from her. He didn't know why. But he did know that the slightest angry look that she threw him gave him so much pleasure.

He tried to ignore the tiny voice in the back at his head asking him if it was just the angry looks in which he took pleasure, or would it be any acknowledgment she gave him.

He had a feeling he would not want to analyze the issue and come up with the answer, as he was also sure he would not like it.

So he did the only thing he knew he could do, he smirked again, masking his true feelings and walked out of the office to face his new babysitting job.

When he walked out of the office he could see that the kids were already there. But it wasn't what he expected.

He thought that they would be _children_, as in kids from age six to maybe 9. But he was wrong.

There were various ranking ages in the group he was now looking at. But the youngest one had to at least be eleven. And the oldest was maybe thirteen, which was only two years younger than him.

´So maybe it won't be babysitting after all.´ he thought.

He came to stand next to Hermione, who was in a heated conversation with Padma.

¨What's going on?¨ he asked Hermione.

¨Apparently there are more kids then they were expecting. They were expecting sixteen kids total, eight for each cabin. But 32 kids came."

Draco looked back at the group of kids.

"But that's not it," Padma added. "There are also 4 other counselors."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked.

"It means that we aren't the only guides." Hermione said. "There are other four."

Draco frowned.

Hermione wondered how the mix up had happened. Suddenly, thanks to her wand, Ms. Johnson's voice became so loud.

"Everyone to the great hall!" she ordered.

The four Hogwarts students along with the other staff started to guide everyone else to the great hall.

After they got there and they were seated, Ms. Johnson attempted to explain.

"It seems like there had been a confusion," she started.

'Gee, you think?' Hermione thought to herself.

"Sixteen of you children come from the United States while the other sixteen are from Australia. When I received a letter telling me that this year's midterm camp would be hosted in Australia, I assumed that the children attending it would be from Australia. So I sent out the letters. But the Ministry sent out letters to the U.S. I was also told that this year's counselors would be from England, but the ministry sent out letters to Spain."

Hermione looked at the other guides. There were also two girls and two boys. The tallest of the boys seemed to feel hers stare, since he turned to look at her. their eyes met for a second, in which he managed to smile warmly at her, and she just managed to blush and quickly look back to the front.

"However, we can not send any of you back, since it would be unfair. So I will contact the ministry to let them know, and meanwhile, this year's camp will have eight guides and 32 campers!" she said in a cheery voice.

Draco smirked as the professor started to clap happily. Taking her lead, everyone started to cheer and clap too.

"Ok, so the way we will sort you kids into your cabins will not be with a hat, but we will draw names from a cup. There will be eight kids from the U.S and eight from Australia. As for the counselors, there will now be four."

Hermione thought back to the four beds in each dormitory and only two in the guides' room. As if reading her thoughts, Padma raised her hand.

"But what about the beds in the rooms?" she asked the professor.

"Well, the beds in the children's dormitory can be turned into bunkbeds, while the beds in the guides' rooms, well I trust that those beds are big enough to fit two people. So you will be ok." The professor answered her in a dismissal tone. So Padma jus leaned back on her chair.

"Ok. So to begin with, can I please have all the guides to come and strand up here?" she said, pointing to her side.

The eight counselors got up and stood where she had told them.

"Great. You two will be with them two," she said to Draco and Hermione as she pointed to the tall guy that had smiled to Hermione and to the girl standing next to him. She then said the same thing to Padma and Stephen as she pointed at the two remaining students.

Then the professor turned back to the children.

"These are your guides." She told them. Then as she pointed to each of the eight students she said their names.

"Hermione Granger. Draco Malfoy. Alexander Lopez. Isabella de la Fuente. Padma Patil. Stephen Cornfoot. Gabriel de la Fuente and Romina Mendoza."

She then put Hermione, Draco, Alexander and Isabella to her left and assigned them as group one and kept the other four at her right. as group two.

"So as I call your name and tell you in which group you will be in, you will seat at the table that was assigned to you.

"That is number one," she said pointing at an empty table. "And that is two." She pointed to the other table.

"Ok, so lets begin. We will start with the boys from Australia first. And then with the U.S boys. Then with the girls and so on."

She then started to call out names. After all of the kids were seated at their assigned tables, the leaders were given a list of who their kids were and then they got sent to their cabins to unpack before lunch.

Hermione looked at her list, an dthen at Padma's, who shwed it to her.

Group One

Boys:

Justin Hunter

Blake Cullen

Brian Johnson

Jonathan Graham

Christopher Smith

Marcus Kyle

Miguel Martinez

Jason Hunter

Girls:

Sarah Allister

Helena Welsh

Brooke Tempe

Jessica Davis

Anna Roberts

Desiree Thomas

Megan Burns

Hailey Shane

Group two:

Boys:

Brandon Newton

Eric Ross

Jimmy Thomas

Christian Brown

Mark Love

Kyle Evans

Edward Lee

Michael Dean

Girls:

Jennifer Black

Eve Rolland

Rachel Chance

Sierra White

Raven Liam

Lily Josh

Jacqueline Litz

Melissa Green

Draco and Hermione walked side by side in complete silence to their cabin. Hermione listened to the excited chatter of all the kids walking in front of her.

As they walked inside the cabin all of the kids gasped in amazement. Like Hermione, they hadn't been prepared for all of this. They all soon ran to their rooms to start unpacking.

The four guides were left standing awkwardly in the cabin's common room.

"So," said the tall boy. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves."

Hermione smiled when she heard his deep voice. There was just something about that accent that made her want to smile.

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said extending out her hand to shake the guy's.

"Alexander Lopez. But call me Alex." He answered. His eyes were a soft green. Hermione checked him out discreetly. He was taller than her, and about an inch taller than Draco, Hermione noted with surprise. His hair was a dirty blonde; his skin was light, but still darker than Hermione's. He also had dimples. Hermione smiled.

"Pleased to meet you." She answered.

Draco stared at Hermione. Was it his imagination or did he hear a tinge of flirting in her voice? Either way, he did not like the way she was smiling at him. Or the fact that they were still holding hands.

"Draco Malfoy." He said suddenly in a cold tone. Hermione glanced at him. His expression was hard. Hermione dropped Alex's hand since Alex was going to shake Draco's, but Draco made no move.

So Alex just nodded, his smile slipping a bit.

"I'm Isabella. People call me Bella." The girl standing next to Alex said. She was a bit shorter that Hermione. She had beautiful black wavy hair, which reached to her waist. Her eyes were big and dark, almost as much as her hair. But her skin was shockingly white, lighter than Malfoy's even.

She mostly looked at Draco. Her smile was wide and inviting. Her message clear and yet it was sent in a subtle way.

Draco smirked slightly as he saw Hermione gape at the girl.

"Cool." Was Draco's simple response. Hermione forced herself to smile.

They stood there awkwardly again.

"So what school are you from?" Alex asked Hermione, in an attempt to make conversation.

"Hogwarts. In London." Hermione smiled at his effort. "And you?"

"St. Micael." He said, pronouncing the word in Spanish. "In Barcelona."

"How long have you been studying?" Hermione asked.

Draco didn't like the fact that he was being excluded from the conversation. He felt like the third wheel. Bella had gone up to the bookcase and had already started to read a book.

Draco knew there was no way he could interrupt or even prevent them from talking to each other. So he mumbled an 'I'll be right back' as he made his way to the bedroom.

He did not want to just be sitting there as the two of them chatted. He decided to take a nap. Maybe that would make time pass by faster until it was time for lunch. Even if lunch was hours away and he knew it.

But he refused to acknowledge that fact. He lay down on the bed. He tried to block all thoughts about Hermione from his mind.

He was drifting to sleep already. His last thought however, was a picture of Hermione at the dance. The image was of when he had stopped kissing her.

In those seconds so many feelings coursed through Draco. He didn't know why, but Hermione made him feel unstable. He dint know why she affected him so much.

'I should have never kissed her' Draco thought sleepily. 'I knew I would regret it'

But as much as he hated it, he could not change the past. But he could still work on his future. And he was determined to finish with whichever feelings he had for Hermione.

But as we all know, things don't usually come out the way you plan them. And Draco Malfoy was going to experience that for the thousand time in his life.

_**Ok there you go. I wasn't entirely happy…but I tried. **_

_**Review??**_


	8. Confession Deal

_**There is a special person I want to dedicate this chapter to, Gryfferin Princess, just because it seems like you really enjoy this story.**_

_**Thanks for the reviews!**_

**Chapter 8 "Confession Deal"**

"Enjoying the view?" Draco heard a girl say from behind him.

He sat up quickly, but when he saw it was Isabella he relaxed down a bit.

"What view?" he said innocently.

"You know, I'm not stupid." She said gesturing over to the field.

Draco had been sitting a rock at the edge of the big grass field pretending to read a book. He was however, spying on Hermione and that Alex guy, who were currently helping the kids with flying on their brooms.

Since the other students had arrived, Hermione and Alex had hit it off immediately, something that Draco tried to ignore desperately.

"I didn't say you were." He said in his bored voice, snapping back to the present.

"You like her, it easy to see."

"I do not!" Draco said getting up.

Bella looked at him with surprise then a smirk spread over her lips slowly. Draco scowled, not liking his reaction.

"Boys." Bella said in a loud mutter as she threw her arms up, as if giving up.

Draco turned to look at her, anger visible in his eyes.

"What do you want?"

"To help you."

Draco stared at her, thinking he had heard her wrong.

"With what?" he said slowly.

"With whom," she corrected

Draco's eyebrow arched. "With whom?"

"With the mudblood." She answered sitting down on the large rock and patted the spot next to her, signaling for him to sit.

He looked at her for a while, surprised and somewhat mad about the name calling. He decided to at least find out what she wanted.

"Why?" he asked her as he sat down.

"Because I'm a really nice person." She answered with a sly smile.

Draco snorted. "Right."

She only kept on smiling.

"Tell me the truth." He commanded.

"I'm telling the truth."

"Not all of it." He said in a matter of fact tone.

She sighed. "I believe that helping you, will help me."

"With what?"

"With whom." She corrected again with another sigh as she glanced at Hermione and Alex.

He immediately got where she was going to

"You want him." He stated.

She nodded slowly, a sad smile now on her full lips.

He was now intrigued. "Explain."

"I've known him all my life, literally. His mother and mine were best friends, so we are really closed. However, I'm his best friend and sadly, he sees me as just one more of the guys." She said.

Draco whistled slowly, wondering why somebody would see the beautiful girl sitting next to him as a guy.

He nodded. "And…?" he encouraged.

"Well, I have tried all I can to get closer to him. There was this one time where I thought that something might actually be happening, but I was wrong. I want to open his eyes. Whenever he broke up with a girl he would tell me over and over again what he wanted in a girl. I desperately tried to show him I was that girl. But he won't see, and I'm tired of being the one to clean up after his mess." She said wistfully.

To her surprise, Draco burst out laughing. She looked at him angrily and got up to leave. But he caught her arm and pulled her back down.

"That's easy to fix," he said trying to explain why he had laughed.

She sat back down and stared at him.

"You have to stop being there for him." He continued.

"But that's dumb. I want him to see that I'm there for him."

"Yeah. But as a friend or as something more?"

She looked away.

"Look, you have to make him notice you. So stay away from him. Don't treat him bad, just keep some distance. He will soon wonder where his buddy has gone off to. If possible let him know in a subtle way that you don't want to be the mattress he falls on every time something is wrong anymore. He will then realize that he has run out of the friend magic dust. He will see how much he needs you, and therefore, he will seek _you_ and not the way around."

She stared at him, the surprise on her face insulting him.

"But isn't that what you do with Hermione?"

"What?"

"Keep distance."

Draco smiled. "No, well yes. But it's different. We have never been friends, and I have treated her badly since we met."

"So you admit it." she said with a triumphant smile.

"Admit what." He said, still too innocent.

She rolled her eyes. "You have a thing for her."

"If by that thing you mean pure hate and nothing more, well then yes. I do have a thing for her."

"Wait a second, I get it!" she suddenly said.

Draco arched an eyebrow. "Get what?"

"I know why you like her, but you hate that you like her."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah. You gave me really good advice, of what I should do to get Alex to notice me. And then when I said that you should do the same with Hermione, you said it was different. And now I know why!"

"I thought I told you why.' He said.

"No. I mean where you got the advice from. I need to stand up to Alex for him to notice me. You said that because Hermione stands up to you. That's how she caught your attention. That's why she intrigues you, because she reacts different to you than other girls. And that's what you have been looking for."

Draco stared at her. "What are you, a psychologist?"

She laughed. "Think about it." she said once again getting up.

"Ok, ok." Draco quickly said as he too got up. "It's true. What do I do about it?"

Bella turned to him and smiled.

"Well Draco Malfoy, I was hoping you would ask."

_**Ok I know it's a terribly short chapter and I'm truly sorry for this. But I wasn't going to update until Sunday since over my head with school, piano, dancing and creative writing classes. To make it worse I have exams this week, so I don't have much time. **_

_**So I decided to give you at least something. **_

_**Anyways, hope you liked it.**_

_**Let me know what you think.**_

_**Review?**_

_**Yours,**_

_**leilygurl**_


	9. On Motion

So I figure you all enjoyed the cliffhanger I left on my last chapter haha

_**So I figure you all enjoyed the cliffhanger I left on my last chapter haha. But anyways, I will now take this free time I have to write. I didn't think I would write like until two weeks or something but being the wonderful smart person that I am :p I passed all my classes woo!! Lol. So now to celebrate here goes the another chapter. **_

**Chapter 9 "On Motion"**

"So what do you think?" Bella said with a smile.

Draco grinned back. "Sounds perfect."

Bella's smile widened as she extended her hand out to Draco. "Well then, let's set our plan into motion."

Draco nodded. "Great."

It was dark already. The two of them had stayed through dinner on that rock deliberating their deal and plans. It had been a long time since Hermione and Alex had left, which did not escape Draco's attention. But he didn't really mind, since he was sure the plan would work.

They quietly walked back to their cabin together, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Draco knew that Bella had suggested the plan because she wanted to get with Alex.

However when Draco really thought why he had agreed into making Hermione fall for him, he decided to ignore that reason and make up a more convenient one. Yeah, that should do the trick.

He still denied that Hermione meant something to him. He convinced himself that he would make her fall for him, make her be obsessed with him, love him if it was necessary and just drop to his feet so that he could see that Hermione Granger was not different than the other girls.

Once he proved that he could go back to dating, well actually just going out with girls the way he had done before. With out caring.

But there was still that stupid little voice in his head telling him that he was going to fail. But Draco decided to ignore it. He would ignore it. He had one goal and he would accomplish it no matter how long it took.

Once they arrived at the cabin, Draco opened the door and held it open for Bella. She smiled and sighed.

"Ready?" she whispered.

Draco nodded an made himself smile.

Bella smiled and walked inside, Draco following her.

Almost everyone was in the common room, including Hermione and Alex. They were sitting on the floor, playing wizards chess.

They both looked up to see Draco and Bella standing before them, a smile on Bella's lips and a smirk on Draco's.

Hermione frowned. She had wondered all day where Draco had been. When she had lest the field to go to dinner he had still been on that rock. But when she had glanced at him she had seen him with another girl, so she had decided to not bother him.

However, during dinner she kept on looking at the door, waiting for him to come in. but when he didn't she started to get nervous. After dinner, when everyone went back to their cabins, Hermione had told Alex that she would go out for a walk.

A walk indeed, but a secret spying mission one. She had wanted to see if Draco was still on that rock. She half wanted to see him there, but was also hoping to not find him at all. She did not, however, wanted to think about what he had done with Bella.

But after confirming that he was still on that rock, sitting a bit to close to her beautiful roommate, she felt her stomach drop.

She had turned around and walked back angrily to her cabin. All the way there she had tried to convince herself that she was angry for doing what she had done, and not because of what she had seen.

But now that she stared at his smirking face she felt that anger bubbling inside her again.

She wanted to yell at him, for leaving her alone with Alex, she wanted to slap him for kissing her and just leaving her like that. And she wanted to hug him for returning.

Her frown became more pronounced at that last thought. She did not care if he had returned. Actually, she would have been better off if he would have ran away to the forest and get eaten by a bear or something.

But no, he had to return with his stupid smirk on his gorgeous face.

'Stop it, Hermione!' she commanded herself. 'It's Malfoy we are talking about, for Merlin's sake!'

She shook her head, trying to erase the thought.

'He should have been eaten by a bear' she muttered to herself without thinking.

Alex looked at her strangely, but she wasn't sure if he had heard everything she had said. so instead she smiled and looked at the blonde in front of her.

"Glad you made it back. I was starting to worry I would have to go looking for you." She said sarcastically.

Draco smirked again. "Aww honey. How sweet of you. But I can take care of myself, thank you." He said sweetly placing his hand over his heart.

Hermione scowled when she heard Bella's soft laugh. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Alex stiffen. She looked at him confused, but he was glancing at the game.

She glanced at her watch. "It's eleven, way past bedtime." She then directed her attention to all the kids in the common room and told them to go to bed. They all grudgingly accepted and walked slowly to their dorms.

The four leaders were left alone. Hermione cleared her throat.

"Maybe we should go to bed too." She said, getting up.

"I think I'll stay a bit longer." Alex said without looking at them as he too got up and made his way to one sofa, sat down and grabbed a book.

Bella turned around, and 'accidentally' bumped into Draco. He understood immediately.

"I think I'll read a bit too." Bella said, sitting on an armchair and grabbing another book.

Hermione nodded. "Ok. I'm going to take a shower." She said walking towards the bedroom. Draco sat on a beanbag chair and smiled lazily at Bella, who smiled quickly.

After a bit Draco got up and went to the bedroom. When he got there he could saw that the bathroom door was still closed, but he could no longer hear the shower running.

_Perfect_. He thought to himself. He stood a step away in front of the door, waiting for Hermione to come out.

After a couple of minutes the door swung open.

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed when she saw Draco standing in front of her. "Geez Malfoy, make some noise, will you. You scared me half to death."

But Draco just smiled and took a step closer. Hermione frowned.

"I need to use the restroom." Draco said in his bored drawl.

"Well, can you wait till I'm out of it first?" she said as she stepped to one side to pass by, but Draco had stepped to that side too.

She stepped to the other side, as did Draco. They did that for a couple of seconds before Hermione sighed and stood still.

"Can you decide already?" she told him.

Draco looked at her amused. He took another step forward, causing Hermione to step back into the bathroom. He took another step forward and her one back until she was pressed against the sink.

Draco continued to smile. "What are you doing, Malfoy." She asked, her voice shaking.

He smirked wider. Without having his eyes leave hers, he leaned down closer to her face until their warm breaths mixed.

Hermione swallowed hard as he glanced down at her lips then back to her eyes. She only kept on staring at him.

He leaned in closer, his eyes now on her lips.

He smiled and straightened up.

"You smell nice, Granger." He said as he stood aside to let her pass.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked at him confused.

"What was that?" she asked him, facing him with her arms crossed across her chest.

Draco shrugged, but said nothing, his face now unreadable.

They stood there for a second staring at each other. Finally Hermione looked away.

As she walked out of the bathroom she glanced over her shoulder.

"Stay away from me, Malfoy." She warned, shutting the door.

Draco stood there a minute, still staring at the door. Then he smiled as he started to get undressed to step into the shower.

Hermione sat on her bed, thinking about what hat just happened. She couldn't believe he had cornered her like that.

She shook her head. Was he going to kiss her again?

'No,' she thought. 'He is just toying with me. Having some fun at my expense. But fine, if he wants a war, he will get it.'

She smiled, thinking she had the control again. She brushed her hair and put a sweater over her pajama top, which was a spaghetti strap light purple shirt that matched with her purple shorts.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Half an hour later Hermione was sitting on a sofa in their bedroom reading a book. The two Spanish leaders were still sitting at the common room, and Draco was still in the bathroom.

Then Bella walked into the bedroom, Alex behind her. Hermione glanced a the door and smiled.

"Ready to sleep?" Alex asked.

Hermione nodded as Bella rolled her eyes. At that moment Draco came out of the shower wearing only sweatpants, his chest bare.

Hermione glanced away, remembering the incident.

"Ok," Alex began. "How are we going to sleep?"

"Well, one usually lays down and closes one's eyes and drift off until you are dreaming and sometimes one even snores." Draco said sitting on the bed.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, causing him to smirk.

"I meant about the beds." Alex said, keeping his voice even.

"Mate, beds don't sleep." Draco said looking at Alex as if he pitied his stupidity.

"That's enough, Malfoy." Hermione said sternly.

Bella giggled and Alex glared at her. "What?" she asked. "I thought it was funny." She said shrugging.

Alex rolled his eyes and leaned against the closed door.

"Well?" Alex asked looking at Hermione.

"I know," Bella said, giving Draco a weird look. Hermione frowned at that, waiting to hear her proposition. "The girls on one bed, and the guys on the other one."

"Fuck no!" Draco and Alex said at the same time. Both girls stared at them.

"Bella, love" Draco began. "As much as I would love to see two girls on one bed, I'm not that willing to share a bed with a guy."

"Oh." Bella frowned, still in character.

Hermione laughed, to everyone's surprise. Draco gave her a funny look, so she stopped laughing, but still had a smile on her face.

"Well, we could pair off like we did for the classes." Alex suggested as he yawned.

During the day, they had split up into two different teams. They had decided to have a Hogwarts and a St. Micael (Or San Meecael, as they pronounced it.) leader for each group. And also a boy and a girl.

Draco looked at Hermione to see her reaction. To his surprise she was looking at him with what seemed like plead in her eyes.

Without thinking he looked at Bella, and Hermione scowled.

'I don't want to sleep with a stranger,' Hermione thought to herself. That's why she had looked at Draco, to ask him to sleep on her bed. But he had turned to Bella.

'Of course he would rather sleep with her,' she though bitterly.

But then Bella walked over to Alex and whispered something to him. Then Alex nodded.

"Or we could just pair off with our classmate."

Hermione stood up quickly. "That's a great idea. I pick that bed," she said as she pointed at the one where she had slept the past two nights.

"What if I want to sleep on this one?" Draco said gesturing at the bed where he was seating.

"Too bad." Hermione said.

Alex laughed. "Argue with a woman all you want, but _mate_ you will never win."

Draco scowled at the way he said the word mate. But he had to admit that the guy had spoken words of wisdom.

So he sighed and walked over to Hermione's bed. On the way there he made eye contact with Bella, and he flashed her a quick smile that neither Hermione nor Alex saw.

Bella just nodded once as she went to her suitcase and began to look for her pajama. Once she got it she made her way to the bathroom to change.

Alex too got his pajama. Once he changed Hermione was glad to see that unlike Draco's, Alex's did consist of a shirt.

But she wasn't that glad too see Bella's. Bella wore an outfit similar to the one Hermione was wearing, except that her shirt was way tighter and stopped a bit on top of her pierced bellybutton. Her shorts were tight and were; well, short, really short.

Draco glanced at her and smiled slightly as he saw Hermione's expression. The girl looked appalled. And yet there was no trace of jealousy on either her face nor gaze. That caught him off guard.

Bella was aware of the show she was giving, but she couldn't bring herself to care. From the corner of her eye she saw Hermione staring at her.

'Good for Draco' she thought. Then she caught Alex's expression. He was staring at her as if he had never seen her before. So she put an 'I'm not really in this world right now' expression as she got into bed.

Hermione too got under the covers and closed her eyes, pretending that Draco wasn't there.

She heard when Alex turned off the lights and walked to his bed. Then she felt Draco slip under the covers.

But there was something wrong. He wouldn't stop moving. She then opened her eyes and saw Draco's face only inches from hers.

She glared at him and tried to scoot back, but she had lay down on the very edge in an attempt to be as far from him as possible. But now he was invading her space.

"Scoot over, Malfoy." She said in a low voice staring at him.

His eyes were closed, but she could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"Why did you not just get eaten by a bear?" she muttered. Draco's eyes flew open.

"What?"

"Nothing. Scoot over and go to sleep." Draco stared into her eyes. She felt sweaty all over.

Suddenly he leaned in and kissed her lightly once on the lips. She gasped, but didn't move. He pulled back, looking into her eyes. He then leaned down again, and brought his lips really close to hers. Then he suddenly smiled.

"Good night, Granger." He said as he turned his back to her and moved over.

Hermione felt dazed and confused.

'He has got to stop doing that' she thought as she tried to catch her breath.

She then closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

_**Ok, there you go. Hope you liked it. I'm in a happy mood, so I might update really soon. Anyways.**_

_**Review?**_

_**Yours,**_

_**Leilygurl**_


	10. Ruining It

_**Thank you so much for the reviews, alerts and favorites. **_

_**To the ones that are reviewing, you make my day, to those of you that aren't, well why aren't you? :p**_

_**Anyways, let's continue shall we. **_

**Chapter 10 "Ruining It"**

"What?" Bella screeched.

Draco closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"I kissed her." he said again, this time with an irritated sigh. Maybe he wouldn't have told Bella after all.

"Oh.My.God." she said as she sat dramatically on the sofa.

Draco and Bella where now in the common room, while everybody else was having lunch. Draco regretted telling Bella even more now that his stomach was grumbling.

Draco sighed again and dared to open his eyes. Bella was glaring daggers at him. He closed his eyes again and fell back against the head rest.

"You weren't supposed to do that. That wasn't part of the plan. The plan should I remind you was--"

"I know what the plan was ok! I just, I just, let myself go!"

"Let yourself go! Draco you were supposed to get close to her, tease her, but not give her anything, not even a small caress! YOU WERE SIMPLY NOT SUPPOSED TO TOUCH HER!"

"I know, damn it." he muttered.

"Well it doesn't look that way!" Bella snapped.

Draco glared at her. "Oh shut up. Look who is talking. I told you you were supposed to be subtle, to let him know you exist in a subtle way. But no. you had to come out in your little skimpy--"

But Draco couldn't finish his words because at that moment Bella rose from the sofa and slapped him across the face.

"Do not, I repeat, do not ever disrespect me like that again. Ever." She said in a cold voice. "I'm not your stupid little mudblood." She turned on her heel and was making her way to the door.

Draco rose from the sofa quickly and pulled hard on her arm, forcing her to look at him. His cheek was red from the slap, and the color was startling against the rest of his light skin.

He moved close to her until his face was only inches away from hers. However, it was not the same way he got close to Hermione. He did that with care.

The way he got close to Bella was plain menacing.

"Two things," he said down at her glaring face. "One-do not ever, ever call her a mudblood again. And two- don't you ever put your hands on me again!' he said, shaking her hard with each word he said.

Bella only glared at him harder, but he could see fear deep in her eyes. After he was sure she would not reply he let go of her brusquely.

She didn't stop glaring at him until she was out of the door, rubbing her arm where Draco had held her.

He waited a couple of minutes and went outside. He was no longer hungry, so he dint go to the lunchroom. Instead he would take a walk. Yeah, hopefully that would help to clear his head a bit.

Meanwhile Hermione was sitting in the great hall laughing at a joke that one of her campers had just said.

Suddenly Bella sat down next to Alex and glared daggers at Hermione. Hermione frowned, not knowing what was wrong with her.

"¿Te sientes bien?" Alex asked Bella in Spanish.

Bella nodded just once before she started to eat. Hermione shrugged off the weird feeling that told her that Bella's mood had something to do with her.

The next two hours after lunch were free, so Hermione made her way back to the cabin, leaving Bella and Alex talking softly to each other.

When she walked in she was glad to see that the cabin was empty. Making her way to the leaders' room she decided of what to do for the two hours that she had free. She opted for taking a shower, then, once she was done, she grabbed her favorite book and walked trough the door on the glass wall that led to a small balcony.

She sat on one of the lounge chairs, the kind that were long enough for you to lay down on them. She settled in cozily and began to read.

But soon enough her thought were back on Draco and the kiss he had given her the night before.

She scowled at herself for thinking of him. She had done so well with keeping him out of her bed. But now he had to come and disturb her while she was so comfortable.

She sighed heavily as she snapped the book shut. So she decided to just stare at the view, or glare at it was more like it.

Suddenly she heard a door close inside the room. She didn't see anyone. Too lazy to get up and go check she just shrugged and continued to get lost in her thoughts.

Then Draco walked into the balcony.

Hermione almost jumped out of her seat when she heard him come in. He had startled her.

She frowned when she saw his expression. It seemed like if he hadn't seen her yet.

But suddenly he turned to look at the chair and that little smirk of his appeared acroos his face.

"Granger," he said as he took the seat opposite hers.

"Malfoy," she mirrored his tone and expression, refusing to let him know there was something wrong with her.

His smirk became more pronounced as he looked at his surroundings.

"Remember what happened the last time the two of us where alone in a balcony?' he asked looking at her.

Hermione kept her cool. She nodded slowly, not meeting his gaze.

"I committed the stupidest mistake of my life." She said lazily as she opened her book again. However, she was so not planning to go back on reading. But she would sure as hell pretend to.

She was so not going to let him get to her. Psht! As if the boy was that important!

She pointedly chose to ignore that little voice in the back of her head that began to talk.

Draco smirked again. "Yeah. I bet it was the tastiest mistake too."

Hermione smirked too, refusing to stay behind in his little game. "It wasn't wonderful, but I guess coming from you I couldn't ask for anything else."

She still had her eyes on the book, and she moved them as if she was actually reading word after word, line after line.

Draco laughed softly.

"That I chose to not waste my talents on you is a whole different thing. Just a taste of my lips proved my point." He continued.

Hermione laughed too. "What point? You wanted to prove you could actually make a girl throw up because of one of your slimy kiss?"

Draco stared at her for a second.

"I thought we established what my point was." He said getting up and walking towards her chair.

"And I thought I told you to stay away from me, Malfoy." She said now glaring at him.

A quick smile flashed across his face when all of a sudden he swooped down, placing a knee between Hermione's legs to the level of her own knees and half standing with his other leg, his hands clutched the arm rests on either side of her with great force as he leaned down.

Hermione glared at him. "What are you doing, Malfoy?" she said between gritted teeth.

Draco shrugged. "Just having some fun. You?"

"Did I not tell you to keep away from me?" Hermione said, still trying to stay cool. It was rather hard pretending to be miles away from a person when you are only inches apart.

Draco shrugged. "What can I say? You're irresistible." He said in a teasing tone as he stared at her lips.

Hermione had had enough. It could not be possible. He was messing with her again. She knew she had to act indifferent, but he was so not making it easy. Not that he planned to anyways.

So Hermione smiled brightly as she thought of something.

"I knew that. But still, get off." She said with that cheesy smile.

Draco smirked. "Are you saying that because of your usual argument, or just because you secretly want me to think that this bothers you so I only get closer?" he asked easily.

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes. "Look Draco!" she pointed behind him. "Your ego is leaving, go! Run after it!" she said in fake concern.

Draco had looked back, startled that she had used his first name. Using last names kept a barrier up that Draco was grateful for. But this, this was unacceptable.

It was way, way too creepy. It gave Draco a feeling at the pit of his stomach that he didn't like. Not one bit.

He scowled at her, but made no movement to indicate that he was getting off anytime soon. He smiled again with grate effort.

It was his usual cold, arrogant smile.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, sure that he was up to no good.

He leaned closer. "You know, Granger--"

But he could not finish his sentence, for Hermione had suddenly jumped pushing and forcing him back until they were standing.

He was startled, but quickly gathered himself. She, on the other hand, was furious.

Her face was suddenly red and she was glaring at him.

She then took a step towards him. "I don't know what weir and twisted game you are playing but I want it to stop." She said through gritted teeth.

Draco only stared at her, amazed and somewhat dumbfounded by her reaction.

"I'm not a toy, Malfoy. I'm not someone you can kiss one night, be cold to the next months and then keep on trying to kiss. I'm not that kind of girl. If you are smart enough as they say you are, which I highly doubt, you will see and understand that it's best for you to leave me the hell alone!" she finished.

With almost every word she had said, she had taken a step towards him, and he had taken one back, until it was he, Draco Malfoy, the one that was against the corner.

"Is that a threat, Granger?" he asked her after a minute of silence.

To his great surprise, suddenly Hermione's glaring face turned into a twisted smile.

"I don't make threats, I make promises." She said in a- ok lets face it. She said it in a threatening mutter.

Draco stared at her, his eyebrows arching. He had never seen this side of the girl sure he had seen her mad, furious and God knows what else. But this was different. This was a strong Hermione. One that knew how to take care of herself.

Draco had been sure that Hermione had always been the sensitive part of the Golden trio, and she was. But he would have never imagined her also being the one that kept the group together. One to protect the others. He always thought that the other two members protected her as their little treasure.

But now, he didn't know what to think. He thought he knew her. I mean think about it, how much could there be to bushy hair, brown eyed, bookworm Granger?"

'A lot,' he thought. 'Hell of a lot more.'

They stood there staring at each other, Hermione's anger flowing away with each second.

She could see the surprise she had caused on him, and in a way that made her feel good.

"I'm not that type of girl." She repeated in a more vulnerable whisper.

Draco swallowed hard.

"I know you're not." He said in return, his voice cold and yet with feeling.

Hermione had looked away, but when she heard his voice, she had looked back quickly.

She couldn't understand his expression.

She found herself frustrated by that, and was also surprised that she actually wanted to know what he was thinking.

"Good." Was all she managed to say before she turned around to head back to the dormitory.

She suddenly needed to get away from him. She sighed deeply as she stepped into the room, grateful that Draco had not followed her.

She rubbed her neck; suddenly she was in the mood for a bubble bath. Every girl, including one like Hermione needed one of those once in a while. So she made her way to the bathroom.

Draco still stood in the balcony, thinking about what had just happened. He ran a hand through his thick hair, cursing himself for being so stupid.

Of course Hermione was not like the other girls. If she was, he would not need to try to get her to fall in love with him. She would already be.

He smiled self-mockingly. He was arrogant, but it was the truth. Besides, he was trying to make her fall for him the way he treated the other girls.

And that had been a mistake. If Hermione was different, she would need different approaching. She needed a different guy.

Draco sighed again; sure that he was so not that guy.

_**So… short, I know. But I tried. Give me a break people it's past midnight. But anyways,**_

_**I should probably tell you that I might not update for a while because my birthday is in 3 days, and well I'm going to Spain for two weeks, that's my present for my sweet sixteen. **_

_**On another note, to answer a message I got, I know there are a lot of mistakes in my writing and the way I use some words, but the reason for this is because English is not my first or second language. So I'm terribly sorry if it's hard to understand some of the things I write. **_

_**If this is your opinion too, let me know, so that I will be more careful. **_

_**But thanks for reading anyways!!**_

_**Review?**_

_**Yours,**_

_**leilygurl**_


	11. Inner Thoughts

**_thank you so much for all of the reviews!!_**

_**Ok… so I know that two weeks**__** have not passed yet, not even one for that matter. But I am now seating on a very comfortable sofa in a beautiful hotel in a gorgeous country. Unfortunately, it's now raining buckets outside. So thank the Rain God for this chapter **__****__** lol. **_

**Chapter 11 ****¨Inner Thoughts¨**

Draco sat quietly staring off into space as everybody else ate. He tried his best to neither look at Hermione nor at Bella.

He felt horrible for what he had done to Bella. It wasn't that he has over reacted, because he was so sure that he had enough reason to talk to her like that. But not to touch her.

If there was something the Malfoy men never did was touch a woman like that. That was the first thing his father had taught him. The man might have been wrong about all of his other conclusions, but not about that one.

A man should never put his hands on a woman. And although it was so unlike Draco, he wanted to apologize.

That was the true reason why he was avoiding Bella; he didn't know how to apologize. But when he thought about the reason why he was avoiding Hermione, he couldn't come up with a better answer than the one that said he was scared.

He didn't know of what though. Well actually he did. And once he thought it over he came to the conclusion that he wasn't exactly scared, he was actually worried.

Last night, after Hermione had left the balcony, Draco had walked out of the cabin. He didn't come back until late, when the other three leaders were already asleep.

When he saw Hermione laying down, peacefully sleeping, he had felt his heart clench.

He had stared at her for quite a while, thinking of what possibilities he had for a girl like Hermione Granger to fall in love with him.

He became worried when he remembered that he had thought to himself that he was not the kind of guy Hermione needed, nor the one she would want.

He sighed. He was scared because he was afraid to be rejected by Hermione, and he was worried because he felt the need to get away from her to not hurt her.

He was surprised at his thoughts. He had never thought of a girl like that, no matter how beautiful or sweet the girl was t him.

_´I'm not that type of girl.´ _he remembered what she had said to him. And she was right. She wasn't the type of girl Draco so desperately wanted to see in her to get her out of his head. But instead he had managed to not only keep her in his head, but to place her in his heart and soul too.

He shook his head at the nonsense of it all.

Hermione looked up to find Draco shaking his head absently as if he was trying real hard to keep a thought out of his mind. A small frown formed between his eyebrows.

Hermione looked away quickly. She wondered why he had been quiet the whole day. He hadn't even directed an insult to her. That meant Draco was sick, or was probably suffering from some very harsh disease.

Hermione knew there was something wrong with him. But after last night, she didn't know how to bring it up.

She was afraid to get close to him. She was worried that she would get too involved and end up hurt.

But mostly she was curious. It was as if part of her told her that she couldn't leave the mystery unsolved. She had to go in, no matter what.

She wanted to know if she was in his thoughts. And if she was, she wanted to know why.

Hermione shook her head ever so slightly, trying to erase the absurd thoughts that were crossing her head and somehow giving her hopes too.

Draco saw Hermione move out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look at her and caught her gaze.

Hermione gasped silently as she made eye contact with Draco.

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, both deliberating what to do with what they felt, what to do with all the insults and words that have flown from one to the other.

But most importantly, both thought of what to do with the words that had yet to be spoken.

_**Bwuahaha!!**_

_**So really short I know. But I leave tomorrow evening, so there is no way that the stupid rain is ruining my vacations. After all, im used to the rain and have grown to love it. So I'm going to go outside and live the life while you suffer because of my terribly short chapter. Lol**_

_**Just kidding. I will probably update by either tonight, or by tomorrow's dawn. Who knows? Heehee. **_

_**the intentions of this chapter were to somehow understand what it is that they are both feeling. I´m sorry if its ooc, but come on people, this is fanfiction, if they were in character, Hermione and Draco would so not be together. **_

_**But anyways.**_

_**Review?**_

_**Yours,**_

_**Leilygurl. **_


	12. Fuck the World

Chapter 12 "Fuck the World"

**Chapter 12 "Fuck the World" **

"Bella, can I talk to you for a sec." Draco asked Bella before she left the room.

They were both standing alone in the leader's room. He had wanted to apologize, but he hadn't found the right moment, or actually, he just hadn't found the balls to talk to her.

Bella turned to look at him reluctantly.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked with a glare.

Draco swallowed hard. "I want to apologize." He said quickly before he could regret it.

Bella stared at him. "I'm not sure I heard correctly. What did you say?"

Draco sighed. He was sure that she would try to humiliate him.

"I said I'm sorry." He said again.

"What?" Bella repeated.

Draco glared at her. "I'm not repeating it." he said.

Bella smiled smugly. "Fine Malfoy. You are forgiven. Goodbye." She said turning around and walking out of the room.

Draco stared after her, not sure what had just happened. Either way, he had done what he had to do. So that was over.

However there was another thing he had to do. He had to talk to Granger, but the fact that she kept by Alex's side didn't help.

It had been two days since their weird moment in the cafeteria. Draco had meant to say something to her, but she refused to even look at him. Despite the fact that they shared a bed, Hermione kept a hell of a distance between the two of them, only to get closer to Alex. And Draco was fucking tired of it. So he was determined to do something about it.

Today they were going to help the kids with their flying. They were all going to have to go to the field. That wasn't helpful. So Draco started to think of a way he could get Hermione alone.

He walked out of the cabin to find Alex and Hermione standing close together. She was laughing at a joke he had said. a couple of feet behind them was Bella, standing with Stephen. She was looking at them with disgust and the hurt in her eyes was visible.

Draco knew that there was no way he could get Bella to work with him again. But he knew that he would also be doing her a favor if he managed to get Alex and Hermione separated. That would be his way of telling her that he was truly sorry for what he had done to her.

So Draco quickly began to form plans in his mind.

Hermione knew that she was being watched by both Draco and Bella. She knew that it was possible she could be hurting Bella, and she felt terrible for that. But that guilt was quickly dissolved when she thought about Draco getting hurt too.

She knew that it was possible that Draco didn't even notice that she was standing close to Alex and laughing at his dumb jokes because of him. But she knew she still had to try and get him out of her head.

She also knew that it was unfair to Alex and Bella what she was doing. She could tell that Bella was practically in love with Alex, and she noticed that Alex was starting to notice that. But nothing would happen between the two Spanish students if Hermione kept on getting in the way.

So she decided that she would get close to Alex only for the view, but while she spent time with him she would tell him about Bella and help with their relationship. That was her way of paying Bella back and apologizing too.

As they made their way to the field Hermione glanced back behind her to find one of the oldest girls in the camp flirting with Draco.

However, Draco didn't seem interested, since he was glancing at Bella with concern in his eyes. Hermione felt a tug in her stomach. She knew she was jealous, so she quickly turned around and linked her arm with Alex's as they continued to walk.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hermione hated to fly, so she was not being of much help to the kids. However, everybody else seemed to be enjoying themselves. She could see Alex in the air with a couple of kids, Bella at a close distance keeping an eye on him. The other leaders were spread out also flying in the sky.

The closest one to the ground was Draco. As Hermione looked at him, he turned and glanced down at her.

They made eye contact, and all of a sudden he swooped down and came to stand in front of her.

"Aren't you going to fly?" he asked her.

Hermione shook her head. "I hate flying."

"Why?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't want to be hundreds of feet in the sky with only a piece of wood holding me up. It's stupid, to put yourself in danger like that."

Draco laughed. "Have some faith on that wood."

Hermione was mesmerized by his laugh. She had heard him laugh before, but not like that. Not freely and with no smugness on it. She liked it.

She smiled at him. "I can't help it."

"But you have flown before, right?"

"Yeah. But I'm also a bit scared of heights." She admitted sheepishly.

"Fly with me." He suggested.

"I don't want to fly."

"Come on. You want be there alone. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." He said extending his hand out to hers.

Hermione glanced at his hand and then at his face, unsure of what she should do.

Draco could see the inner battle she was having. He knew that she wasn't taking long to say her answer because she didn't want to fly or was scared of heights, but because she didn't trust him.

It was easy to see that. Draco's face fell. He was about to take his hand back when Hermione suddenly took a hold of it.

"Alright." She said. After all, what could he do to her with a whole bunch of people around?

Draco smiled as he let go of her hand and positioned himself on the broom.

"Do you want to be on the front or on the back?"

"On the back." She answered quickly. She knew that if she sat on the front it would be her the one to steer the broom.

Draco nodded. "Ok."

Hermione positioned herself behind Draco, leaving some space.

Draco rolled his eyes. "You have to hold on to me." He said.

"Why?"

"Do you want to fall?"

Hermione then wrapped her arms loosely around his waist.

"Ok. Now we have to kick of together or we won't go up. At three, ok?"

"Fine." Hermione answered.

"One, two, three!" Draco said and they both kicked, getting into the air easily.

As they began to put more distance between them and the ground, Hermione held on tighter to him.

Draco smiled as he felt her press against him. He was surprised that she had even talked to him, and now she trusted him.

He started easily at first, and then he went faster, causing Hermione to shriek and hold on tighter to him.

He laughed freely as he slowed down.

"Don't do that!" Hermione said.

"Oh, Granger. What happened to the brave girl that punched me in third year? Where is your Gryffindor backbone?" He asked.

Hermione glared at his back. "Don't know Malfoy. Where's the charming guy that every girl in Hogwarts and this camp is after?"

He laughed. "Really. Hmm. Every girl?"

"Well maybe not." She said rolling her eyes.

Draco laughed again.

"That guy may be lost, but I sure as hell found the arrogant one."

At that moment a thunder sounded. Hermione looked up quickly to find that the sky was now full of grey clouds.

"Maybe we should-" but Draco couldn't finish because all of a sudden lighting stroke a tree close to them.

Hermione screamed and moved brusquely, causing the broom to shake uncontrollably.

Draco tried his best to steady the broom, but the sudden heavy rain wasn't helping. They were going down; there was no doubt about that.

So Draco tried to at least slow the broom so that the crash wouldn't be so harsh. Hermione kept on screaming hysterically, and who could blame her?

Once she noticed that they were going to crash she started to shake, making to broom loose its balance even more.

Things happened so quickly. Every student was now on the ground, looking at them, some even yelling their names.

Draco tried to stir the broom so that it wouldn't crash into the kids underneath them. But Hermione's movements weren't helping. Draco was loosing his patience.

Soon enough they found themselves on the ground in a tangle mess. Pain shot through all of Hermione's body.

Draco groaned from underneath her. Hermione tried to move off him, but it was useless.

"Hermione!" she hear Alex's and Padma's voice.

"Great." Draco muttered.

Hermione glanced at him. His yes were closed, but he seemed annoyed.

Alex then helped Hermione off Draco. She found she could at least stand. Draco got up slowly, checking that everything worked.

"Stupid mudblood." He muttered without thinking.

Hermione gasped, and Draco's head snapped up. He saw the hurt in her eyes. He wanted to kick himself.

Suddenly Alex pointed at Draco with his wand.

"Repeat that." He said.

Draco glared at him and turned to look at Hermione. But there wasn't any expression on her face anymore.

It was cold and serious, her eyes blank. She pulled on Alex's arm.

"Come on." She said, not taking her eyes of Draco's. "He's not worth it."

They started to walk away. Draco only stared after them. They were no a couple of yards away from him.

Draco frowned, not understanding her reaction. But he was suddenly mad. Angry at himself, at that stupid Spanish bastard and at Hermione for choosing Alex over him.

Without thinking he suddenly grabbed his broom from the ground, positioned himself and kicked off.

He kept close to the floor. Soon enough he was close to them.

"Watch out!" he heard Padma yell.

Hermione turned to look back just as he swooped down and picked her up, making her sit sideways in front of him.

"What are you doing?! Put me down!" she said, hitting him on the chest.

Draco ignored her and continued to put more distance between them and the floor along with all the people.

He saw Alex run for his broom, but when he did reach it, they were out of his sight.

Hermione continued to pound on his chest.

"Keep doing that, and we will fall again." He said slyly.

"Good! I'd rather fall then be here with you!" she yelled, but she stopped hitting him.

Draco tried not to smile. The rain had now drenched them.

He held on to Hermione with one arm as he stirred the broom with the other. It would be hard to land like that. He had to get Hermione to sit correctly. But he knew that she wouldn't do it on her own, so he decided to move her himself.

Suddenly he pushed her of the broom, still holding her by the waist he somehow managed to sit her correctly once she was back on the broom.

"What's wrong with you?! You could have killed me!" Hermione yelled.

Draco ignored her as he landed on the ground under a tree where it was dry thanks to it's branches full of leaves.

He helped Hermione off the broom as he too stepped away.

"What are we doing here?" Hermione said hugging herself as she glared at him.

Draco took his wand out from his pocket and with one flick from his wrist he and Hermione were suddenly dry.

"We need to talk." He said suddenly as he sat down on a large rock.

"No we don't. We have to go back to the camp."

Draco stared at her.

Hermione squirmed under his blank and yet intense stare.

"Ok, fine." She said giving up. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Us." He said simply.

"Us?"

"Yes Granger, us."

"What about us?"

"That's what I want to know."

Hermione stared at him confused. "Explain yourself."

Draco sighed. It would have to be him the one to talk then.

"Since that stupid kiss I gave you on Christmas I can't stop thinking about you and every weird encounter he have had since then."

Hermione stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"I know I haven't been really nice to you since then. But give me a break, its hard enough to not only have fallen for a Gryffindor but also for a girl I cant have."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but no words came. They continued to stare at each other for a couple of seconds before Draco spoke.

"Say something." He said.

Hermione swallowed. "You have never fallen for a girl?" She wanted to take it back the moment she said it. That was the stupidest thing she could say.

Draco half smiled as he pushed himself of the rock. He walked towards Hermione slowly.

"Not like I have fallen for you." He answered.

Hermione swallowed again. He was now standing right in front of her, only inched away from her.

"Why do you think that you can't have me?" she asked suddenly.

Draco looked into her eyes intently before answering.

"We can't be together. My father wouldn't allow it. Your friends wouldn't like it. What would the world think? Besides, you don't like me."

"I thought you didn't care what others think." She said. Then she smiled. "And what makes you think I don't like you?"

Draco looked at her for only a second.

"Fuck the world." He said as he quickly closed the distance between them, closing his lips over hers.

_**So… what do you think? They finally admitted what they feel for each other!! Yay!!**_

_**So now you have to revie!! Please let me know what you think. Any suggestions of where this should go??**_

_**Review!!**_

_**Yours,**_

_**leilygurl**_


	13. Realization

_**Especial thanks to **__**Stephanie Z**_, _**lol, thank you for pointing that out. I knew it was wrong, I did it un purpose, you know to make sure you were paying attention. Lol yea right, just kidding. I knew there was something wrong with it though, I mean, I actually did spell it right at least once in the chapter, so that's good enough for me, :p but now I'll be more careful. Thank oyu for reviewing!! **_

_**O my God..50 reviews total...I know this is nothing compared with other stories, but I will not let that burst my bubble. lol. Either way thank you so much for reading and taking the time to review, that's what encourages me to continue. **_

**Chapter 13 "Realization"**

"_Not like I have fallen for you." He answered._

_Hermione swallowed again. He was now standing right in front of her, only inches away from her._

"_Why do you think that you can't have me?" she asked suddenly._

_Draco looked into her eyes intently before answering._

"_We can't be together. My father wouldn't allow it. Your friends wouldn't like it. What would the world think? Besides, you don't like me."_

"_I thought you didn't care what others think." She said. Then she smiled. "And what makes you think I don't like you?"_

_Draco looked at her for only a second._

"_Fuck the world." He said as he quickly closed the distance between them, closing his lips over hers._

Hermione never thought that that word would sound like music to her ears, but in that particular moment it sounded like a whole symphony playing just for her.

She let Draco kiss her at first, giving back just a bit, enjoying his touch and the feeling of having his arms around her, his hands firmly yet gently pulling her towards him.

But then she had enough. She started to kiss back with as much force as he was kissing her, putting even more passion to it.

Draco saw this as a challenge, much to his surprise and not willing to let his ego be insulted, he fought for control.

Hermione smiled into his lips. Even while they kissed they had to argue.

'Dear God' she thought as she tightened her hold around his neck, placing one hand on the back as his head as she tried to get him closer.

They were both running out of air, but neither was willing to be the first to pull apart. Soon enough they couldn't take.

Pulling back at the same time, they stayed in each other's arms as they fought to get their breaths back.

Draco leaned his forehead against Hermione's. She closed her eyes as did he, refusing to let the moment go.

"Poor World." Hermione said in between breaths.

Draco laughed quietly, his laughter tinted just by a bit of smugness. Hermione allowed that and did not say anything. After all, she decided that anyone that could kiss so deliciously had the right to be a bit smug afterwards.

She lifted her head just a bit, causing Draco to lift his own.

"What now?" Draco asked after a minute of only staring into each other's eyes.

Hermione smiled. Draco was surprised to see that smile. He was intrigued by it. He had never seen Hermione smile like that.

Now that he thought about it, he had never seen any girl smile like that after he had kissed them, and damn were those a lot of girls.

But strangely, he could only bring himself to care about Hermione's smile. He had liked to see the reaction of other girls, but he knew that that was only to feed his ego.

Now that he stood there admiring her smile, he knew it was because he was amazed he could cause so much happiness. He knew this should have made his ego burst with pride and arrogance, but it only made him feel giddy.

Just like their first kiss, it had shocked him. But after one big shock, he could only receive a bigger one.

He found himself smiling slowly. Hermione arched an eyebrow, wondering what his smile could mean.

Not willing to stay with the mystery, she went right ahead and asked what he was smiling at.

He smiled wider and shrugged. "Just admiring the view."

Hermione blushed and looked momentarily away, only to find that she couldn't keep her eyes of him for a long period of time.

"You know, you didn't answer my question." Draco mused.

"What question?" Hermione asked, distracted.

"What should we do now?"

"Do you have anything better to do than just be here?" She murmured, looking at his lips again.

Draco laughed. "I sure as hell don't. But I bet that your big fan is looking for you, and I don't really want to get sued for kidnapping."

Hermione frowned. "My big fan?"

"Alexander." He said dryly.

"Oh!" Hermione laughed lightly. "He is not my fan. He is my friend."

"Fan. Secret admirer. Take your pick." Draco continued, wanting to get the information out of her.

"Like I said, he is my friend. In case you haven't noticed, Bella is crazy for him. And I'm sure that somewhere deep inside he is in love with her. I was trying to ger him to realize that." Hermione explained.

"Right." Draco said simply.

Hermione scowled at him as she pulled away from his hold. "If you don't want to believe me, well then, that's your problem. Besides, I don't have to be giving you any explanations."

Draco stared at her. He didn't like her tone. He narrowed his eyes at her, anger threatening to spill out of him in waves. Just what did she mean with not owing him explanations; he practically told the girl he loved her!

Hermione saw Draco tense, but remained quiet. She stared at him with her arms crossed across her chest.

She could tell he was having some sort of argument in his mind. She didn't say anything, for fear of making it worse. She knew she had hurt him in some way.

Well at least she now knew that she had succeeded in making him jealous. But now she regretted it.

"We should get back to the camp." Draco said suddenly.

"Draco…" Hermione said quietly as he leaned down to get his broom form the ground.

He turned to look at her, his eyes were back to the cold grey storms they had always been.

Hermione felt a shiver run down her spine. She frowned, not understanding his sudden coldness.

"Come on," he said as he got on the broom.

Hermione stared at him for a minute, bit he didn't make eye contact with her anymore.

She was about to walk towards him but she suddenly stopped. She was so not going to leave in an awkward moment just for a stupid argument. For God's sake, she couldn't even remember the argument!

"I'm not leaving." She said stopping only a foot from him.

"What?" he asked, turning towards her slowly.

"I said I'm not leaving. Not until we get this over with."

"Get over what?" Draco said as he got off the broom and stood in front of her.

"This ridiculous fight! Why did you even get mad?"

He stared at her for a while, deliberating what to tell her. He knew he had acted on impulse, and he didn't really have a reason to be mad at her, but still, he hadn't liked what she had said.

So after a while he shrugged. "I- I don't know." He answered truthfully. He was damned if he told her the truth.

He was jealous and he knew it. He didn't like the fact that Hermione had spent so much time with Alex, even if she was playing matchmaking between Alex and Bella.

But he was madder about the other thing she said. She had said that she didn't have to give him explanations. In part that was true, he didn't own her. But it was the fact that she could have something, that she could be hiding something that she would not like to explain. Draco worried about what that something could be, and he did not like where his imagination was taking him.

"Then?" Hermione asked.

"Then, what?"

"Why did you get mad!" Hermione said impatiently.

"I said I didn't know!"

"Draco…"

"Ok, fine. I admit it. I was jealous, ok? Happy?'

Hermione stared at him. "But I told you there was nothing!"

"I know."

"Then?"

"I just couldn't help it, alright?"

"No it's not alright."

"Look Hermione," he began.

Hermione was taken aback by the change in his tone of voice. It suddenly sounded guilty, sad, and somewhat…scared?

"I already told you I had never fallen for a girl before. Not really. You have to understand. I had never been jealous when I dated; I was usually the one causing jealousy. But this time it's different. Just to imagine you with another guy makes me angry. Just to picture you with someone else worries me. To simply hear your name and another guy's in the same sentence makes me feel uneasy. I know it's a bit too much, and much to dramatic, bu--"

But he couldn't finish his sentence; for Hermione had taken the last remaining step between them and placed her hands on either side of his face, pulling him down she pressed her lips hard against him in a desperate way to let him know that he did not have to worry, that she only cared for him.

Draco was caught by surprise. Her kiss was fierce at first, but once he got over the initial shock, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back.

He liked the way she had taken action, he noticed the way she had tried to make him feel better, and he just loved the way she seemed to fit so perfectly in his arms.

When they pulled back for air, Hermione rested her head on his chest, and he rested his chin on top of her head.

They stood like that for a while, wrapped in each other's arms.

Suddenly Draco pulled back a bit and slowly lifted her face by placing his fingertip gently under her chin.

"Forgive me." He said while gazing into her bright brown eyes.

Hermione smiled and stood on her tipitoes to kiss him lightly once on the lips.

"There's nothing to forgive. Now you know how I feel." She said simply.

Draco laughed lightly.

"Fully noted." He said.

They stood like that for a couple of minutes more, until Hermione sighed.

"We should get back now."

"Yeah, we should."

So smiling brightly, they both sat on the broom. Hermione tightened her hold on his waist since the beginning, and resting her head against his back, she closed her eyes as she felt the mist that was falling from the leftover storm.

She welcomed it, for there was nothing that could ruin her beautiful and peaceful moment.

Or so she thought.

**_So.. there you go._**

**_hope you liked it!!_**

**_Review?_**

**_Yours,_**

**_leilygurl_**


	14. So God Help Me

Ok so today isn't a good day

_**Ok so today isn't a good day. I must say that my inspiration has left me for the moment. Nonetheless, I'm still attempting to write this chapter because I owe it to you guys. So I better get good reviews and a whole bunch of them too. Just so that I get inspired again. And so that my day doesn't suck so much. :p**_

_**Either way. Thank you for waiting patiently and leaving al the reviews. See, that's what helped me write this chapter. Hope you like it!!**_

**Chapter 14 "So God Help Me"**

_They stood like that for a couple of minutes more, until Hermione sighed._

"_We should get back now."_

"_Yeah, we should."_

_So smiling brightly, they both sat on the broom. Hermione tightened her hold on his waist since the beginning, and resting her head against his back, she closed her eyes as she felt the mist that was falling from the leftover storm._

_She welcomed it, for there was nothing that could ruin her beautiful and peaceful moment._

_Or so she thought._

It's funny how when you think that things couldn't possibly get worse, they do just that. They get horribly, helplessly and annoyingly worse.

So when one expresses that one couldn't be happier and that things couldn't get any better, one would think, or would rather expect for things to get much more better.

It would only be fair.

But damn that luck Goddess that is in the sky and every Greek person seemed to idolize. Hermione couldn't remember his name, and frankly she could care less. Especially at the moment because he chose to ignore the rules, justice and fairness and made her wonderfully rainy happy day into a very soppy, muddy and wet one.

She hated that. Right now, Greek mythology was so not on her favorite list.

So the words _or so she thought _were quite the understatement.

"Hermione!" She heard Padma yell as they landed in front of their cabin.

Hermione stumbled off the broom. Draco offered his arm for support, but Hermione gave him a look that he didn't quite understand.

He arched an eyebrow and looked at her confused.

"Shhh." Hermione mouthed.

Draco immediately got what she meant. She had asked him, or rather ordered to keep quiet about their evening.

"What?" Hermione asked Padma.

"Are you okay?" Padma asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Well, you won't be for a long time."

"What do you mean?"

Padma glared at Draco.

"Johnson owled McGonagall. She said that you two were…" But Padma was interrupted by Ms. Johnson herself.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy. Pack your things. You are going home."

"What!" Both Draco and Hermione yelled.

"What you heard. Miss. Parvati, do go to your cabin please."

Padma nodded once, gave Hermione a sad smile with a half wave and left.

"Why?" Hermione asked, turning to Johnson.

"Because I have had enough trouble with you two. So help me God if I allow anymore of this. I have had enough. I had contacted your Professor and you are both to leave tonight."

"That's not fair." Draco said slowly.

"Not fair? Mr. Malfoy, you two have been nothing but trouble makers. The kids don't need to be around so much arguing. Besides, you just took off and flew to Merlin knows where. I will not tolerate this kind of behavior."

"I didn't mean it like that. I mean it's not fair for Hermione. It's all my fault. I should be the one leaving. Not her."

"No." Hermione protested. "We will both leave."

"That's really sweet, for you to be covering for each other. But it won't help. I have made my decision. Now go pack your things." She said and turned to leave.

Hermione and Draco could only stare open mouthed after the woman.

Then they turned to look at each other.

"Hermione…" Draco began.

But Hermione raised her hand to stop him.

"Don't. We should get packing." She said, making her way to their cabin.

Draco caught up to her.

"But it's my fault."

"I know." Hermione said simply.

Draco halted to a stop and looked at her incredulously.

"Hey!" He protested.

Hermione looked at his surprised face and laughed.

"If you don't want me to tell you that it is your fault, then why do you keep on mentioning it?" she asked.

Draco frowned and then smiled sheepishly. "I guess I wanted you to keep on telling me that it wasn't my fault."

"Well it isn't, Draco. So get over it. Either we both leave or we both stay."

Draco smiled wider. He loved hearing his name coming from those gorgeous lips.

Hermione caught him staring dreamily at her lips and blushed as an involuntary smile spread across her face.

Draco smirked at her reaction.

"Come on." Hermione said as she started to walk again.

Draco catched up to her again and took her hand easily in his.

Hermione looked startled for a second, then she resumed her walking.

"So…" Draco said.

Hermione glanced at him. "So what?"

"Well… what are we going to do once we get back to the real world?"

Hermione sighed. She herself had thought about that for a while now. She shrugged. "Live normally, I guess."

"Honey, nothing is normal anymore." Draco pointed that out with a half smile.

Hermione looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Honey?' she asked.

Draco shrugged as he fought to hide his smile. "What would you prefer for me to call you?"

"Well I don't really have anything against it. I just didn't know such words and terms existed in your vocabulary." She mused.

Draco laughed. Hermione again was caught off guard by his life. This time his laugh sounded more free than the one at the field, and that was saying a lot.

She smiled to herself for being the one to cause that awesome laugh.

"Oh they exist." Draco said easily. "I was just waiting for the right person to tell them to."

Hermione laughed. "Right."

They continued to walk in silence to their cabin, each wrapped in their own thoughts and worries, but content with the other's presence.

But once they arrived to the cabin, they let go of each other's hands. They smiled warmly before walking in to the cabin.

Then they just pretended to not care. Why they were pretending, Hermione didn't really know. But she wasn't going to push things with Malfoy.

She knew that it would be hard for him to change for a person, let alone her. but she didn't blame him. She just felt happy with the present. And she tried hard to not think about the future.

Thankfully the cabin was empty, seeing that everyone was at the campfire they built on every Saturday night.

So they went back to their little smiles and lingering glances. Every time that Draco passed by Hermione, he made sure to pass his hand along the length of her arm, or to trace the shape of her delicate face.

Once in a while he would press his warm and yet cold lips ever so lightly against her neck.

At this she would shudder, but it would be over as soon as it began. So she made sure that whenever she walked by him, she walked rather close, as if to dare him to end the space separating them.

However, he would just smile and return her caring glance.

He liked the little games they seemed to be playing silently. Just walking close to each other, not being able to keep a distance of more than two feet between them.

But then Hermione walked into the restroom to pack whatever she had in there.

Draco walked to the door and stood just at the frame, watching her move. Sh edidnt notice him.

She began to walk out of the bathroom with her head down, looking inside the small bag she was holding, but she crashed into Draco.

She almost yelled, but Draco was quicker. He grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her, then pushed away from him a bit to look into her eyes and suddenly he brought her closer, putting his lips over hers.

Hermione was startled. But she smiled into his lips. She could feel the warmth under her skin and wondered if he could feel it too.

When they pulled back for air, Hermione smiled broadly at him.

He stared at her for a while before he smiled back, but Hermione didn't like the look he had given her, and she didn't trust that smile, it hadn't reached his eyes.

She wanted to ask, but he suddenly let go of her and turned around.

"Are you all done?" He asked.

Hermione didn't like his tone of voice. She could hear the effort it took to hide what he was truly feeling.

She walked to him and stood in front of him.

"Draco, what's wrong?" she asked softly.

He looked at her for a second before shaking his head. He was about to walk past her, but she stopped him.

"Tell me." She commanded.

Draco's eyes seemed to shift colors. Hermione had to concentrate hard to not loose herself in those amazing silver pools.

"It's just that…I don't really know if this is the best things for us." He said quickly.

Hermione stared at him. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her.

Draco saw the hurt on her face and quickly explained his words.

"What I meant was the maybe this isn't the best thing for you." He said.

Hermione stared at him, now pure confusion showing on her face.

"I'm a dangerous person, Hermione. My whole family is. You are in danger by just talking to me. Not because you are a member of the bloody golden trio, not because you are a Gryffindor, but because you aren't pureblood. I know that I have told you this for the past four years. But it has nothing to do with what I'm telling you now."

"I don't understand." Hermione said slowly. She understood, o yes she did. She just hoped that for some miracle, he meant something else.

"I would love to be with you Hermione. But I can't. I don't longer think this because we are from different worlds, a lot of couples are. But I just don't think that you would be safe in my world."

"So come to mine." Hermione challenged.

Draco half smiled. "It's not that easy."

"Draco, I would give anything to be with you."

"And I would give up anything for you to be safe. Even if that everything is you."

Hermione stared into his eyes. They seemed sad, scared and resigned.

Hermione sighed.

"Look Draco, I'm not asking you to marry me, for Merlin's sake, we are just fifteen! Let's just live the present. Keep this a secret if we have to. It's probably for the best right now."

Draco stared at her. "You are willing to live some twisted double life just to be with me."

Hermione laughed. "I'm willing to do anything to be with you."

Draco smiled as he wrapped her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head, taking in her scent.

They stood there for what seemed like ages.

And for the first time in his life, Draco truly regretted not being someone else.

_**So… major fluff I know. Lol. So I have a confession. I just finished watching a whole bunch of romance movies, so give me a break if this sounds too...well I don't know**_, _**so sweet to the point that it's sickening. **_

_**Either way. Review!!**_

_**And to answer a review. No, I'm not separating them. It was hard enough to get them together, I will not push them apart now. :p**_

_**So what did you think?? Any suggestions are welcome.**_

_**So **_

_**Review?**_

_**Yours,**_

_**leilygurl**_


	15. Back To ThatOne Place

Ok so before I start, I have decided to start this new thing where I answer your reviews

_**Ok so before I start, I have decided to start this new thing where I answer your reviews. The reason for this is because I don't really have the time to go around answering all of your reviews personally. **_

_**So to show you that I do take notice of what they say, and not the numbers or amounts of them I receive, I will answer to your questions, pointers, tips and just random thoughts. Whatever it says. **_

_**So here we go. **_

**hjpatcos****- you really think so? I wasn't so convinced, but I'm glad you liked it. I guess I can say I'm relieved. :) **

**Hermione-Loves-Ron16311****- yeah I know what you mean. Personally, I agree with you. The whole get them together and then apart thing is getting kind of old. I mean, I still do like some of the plots, but I also enjoy something new. I'm glad you are enjoying my type of new. **

**Stephanie Z- **** I actually love long reviews. And the error correcting thing does help. Thank you for the birthday comment. I'm really glad you like this story so much. Its things like that that help me continue. That was my favorite part of the chapter, the only part that truly made me happy. I'm glad you liked it too. And yeah, that's basically how I plan to make this thing go. So they will be at peace and in secret for a while, and then the action begins. I haven't decided how they will announce it, but I have some ideas. **

**And a tip for you-- go get that guy!!**

**EMMA- **** I love the whole capital letters thing, I don't know why, but it gives me the feeling that you are writing with energy and true happiness for what I wrote. I may be flattering myself, but it still feels nice. I myself are bouncing of joy because you really do seem to enjoy this story. **

_**So there you go. If you want to see your name up here, you better review!! :p **_

_**But let's get back to the story.**_

**Chapter 15 "Back To That-One Place"**

"I'm terribly disappointed in you two." McGonagall said the second they had arrived and had sat down in her office.

Draco felt like laughing at her tone, but he managed to hide his smile, sure that it would just bring trouble.

But when he looked at Hermione to see her reaction, he saw that she did seem guilty, since she hung her head.

Draco rolled his eyes. As much as he loved that girl, he had to admit that she could exaggerate sometimes.

Did she always have to be the goody-two shoes?

But as Draco continued to stare at her, his own heart felt heavy with guilt. He felt responsible for the trouble they were now in.

"This was a great chance for you. You had the opportunity to show your leader skills, to get noticed by how great wizards you could be. But you had to go and put the Hogwarts name to shame."

Hermione shrunk and shrunk more into her seat. She did feel bad for hurting the Hogwarts reputation, but she didn't really regret it, considering that this situation as consequence of having the best thing happen to her. So her happiness couldn't really be destroyed.

But she tried to give the image that she was totally ashamed. It usually worked to get the punishment to be lessened.

It seemed to work. McGonagall took one look at the sad face of the girl and sighed deeply. Maybe it wasn't her fault, not completely anyways.

She turned and glared at the unnerved Draco. When she caught him staring at Hermione in a preoccupied way, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes, already thinking of a few reasons for why they had been acting as they were.

McGonagall cleared her throat, causing Draco to look up instantly. When Draco looked up and met the old witch's eyes, he was surprised to find a certain look in her eyes. He didn't have enough time to analyze it, since she turned away. But it was a look that said that she knew his secret.

He frowned and pushed his hand through his silky hair.

"I won't punish you. I don't really think there would be a point in punishing you. I suppose that living with your conscious will be enough. You are dismissed. Dinner will be over by now. So if you are hungry just go to the kitchens."

Both Draco and Hermione nodded solemnly and without a word, they slipped out of the room.

Once they were outside, and a fair distance form the room, Draco took Hermione's hand in his.

She looked up and smiled at him. He returned the smile, but Hermione frowned as she noticed that it didn't touch his eyes.

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

He didn't answer her for a while. He only stared ahead, continuing his way towards the kitchens.

He didn't really feel hungry, but he bet that Hermione was. Besides, he wasn't ready to be separated from her.

He finally mustered up the courage to look back at her, putting on one of his blank mask.

"Nothing."

Hermione suddenly stopped walking. Draco felt the tug at his hand. He looked back at her, confused by her sudden stop.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Draco." She began.

Draco closed his eyes for a second, relishing in the sound of his name being said by her. he opened his eyes slowly.

"Yes?" he asked.

She stared at him for a while more. "If you are going to be like this all the time, than I would much rather go to my common room."

Draco smirked at her. "Feel free to do as you wish." He answered as he bowed.

Hermione snatched her hand from his as if she had been burned. She crossed her arms across her chest. She frowned at Draco.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She said in harsh tones.

Draco immediately understood his mistake. Gathering her into his arms, he whispered into her ear,

"I'm sorry okay. I just don't really like being back to this place. I don't know, but it makes it seem like what we lived didn't really happen."

Hermione looked up into his eyes and smiled. "Well, if I do remember correctly. It was in here where you kissed me for the first time."

Draco smirked at her. "Yeah. This is where you fell in love with me, huh?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. He laughed at her expression.

"Come on darling, I'm hungry." Draco said as he pulled at her hand to resume their walking.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Mione!" Ginny yelled as soon as Hermione stepped into the common room.

Hermione smiled widely as she hugged her best friend. Suddenly both Harry and Ron came running down the stairs.

"Hey!" They yelled in unison, both running to Hermione, causing her to both laugh and crash against the wall.

After they were finished with the greetings, they sat down to talk about how the camp had been.

Hermione lied brightly as she told them that she had had pleasantly boring time.

"But I thought the ending day would be in three weeks." Harry said.

Hermione cringed inwardly. However, she kept her expression the same as she shrugged.

She tried to come up with an answer quickly. She didn't know what to say. After all, Padma and Stephen were still at the camp.

"Half the camp was leaving today, due to some confusion. Padma and Stephen stayed. But Malfoy and I came back earlier."

"Confusion?" Ron asked.

"Yeah." Hermione nodded. And to make her story sound more real, she told them all about the mix-up with the students from Spain and U.S.A.

She tried to not give much information, or rather, a lot of fake information, considering that Padma and Stephen could say something that could go against her stories.

"So how was living with Malfoy?" Ginny asked.

Once again, Hermione shrugged. "We didn't speak to each other that often. We did argue from time to time, but it didn't go any further than that. I was rather busy to be paying attention to him.

"Rather busy..?" Ginny cooed. "With what? Or should I say with whom?"

"Ginny!" Ron yelled.

Hermione rolled her eyes. But she faked innocence. "What do you mean?" she asked.

But despite her efforts, Hermione blushed faintly. This detail managed to go unnoticed by her two male friends.

However, it did catch Ginny's attention.

Thankfully, Ginny kept quiet. But Hermione had a feeling that as soon as both of them were alone, Ginny would ambush her with questions.

So Hermione yawned a huge fake yawn and rubbed her eyes lazily.

"But anyways. I'm bushed. I'm going to bed, alright. See you guys tomorrow."

She stood to go to her room, Ginny following behind after they had said their goodnights.

Hermione sensed that Ginny was about to start with her stream of questions, so Hermione decided to beat her to it.

"So how are things with Harry?" Hermione asked.

She could see that her friend was full of joy at the start of the subject.

"Oh, it's just wonderful! Three days after you left he kissed me for the first time. It was just so romantic!"

Her friend carried on with waves of glee literally coming out of her in waves. Hermione couldn't help but be happy with her friend.

But the mention of kisses had remind her of a certain set of lips that belonged to non other than to the prince of Slytherin himself.

She smiled to herself as she continued to listen, or pretend to do so anyways, to her friend as they made their way to their room.

00000

Hermione must have been in her fifth dream when all of a sudden a tapping noise woke her up.

She looked towards the window, to where it seemed that the noise was coming from. Hermione got up from her bed quickly and quietly, trying her best to not wake her roommates as she made her way to window.

She through the curtain aside and as soon as she did, she slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle and stop her screaming.

The owl, who seemed to be ready to murder Hermione, tapped against the window again. He seemed annoyed.

So Hermione quickly opened the window to let the owl in. Taking her time to untie the note from the beautiful owl's foot, she looked around the room to make sure that everyone was asleep.

After she had managed to untie the note, she fed the bird a treat. She unfolded the tiny piece of paper and read the contents.

_-H_

_Can't sleep. I'm sure neither can you. _

_So, care to join me in the midnight breeze?_

_-D_

Hermione read and read the two simple lines over and over again. She knew it was from Draco, but she didn't understand what he meant.

She looked back at the window, and was once again in danger of dying of a heart attack.

There, outside her window, perched comfortably and lazily on a broom was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Draco smirked at her surprised and frightened face. But she recovered quickly.

"You idiot. You almost killed me of a heart attack."

Draco laughed quietly, mimicking her hushed tones.

"But I didn't, love. Besides, I promised you that I would never do anything to hurt that gorgeous heart of yours."

Hermione blushed slightly. Draco smiled at her warmly as he extended his hand.

She stared at his hand, outstretched in a silent question.

"You know I hate to fly." She said in an even lower voice.

He smiled wider. "But you have flown with me before, and nothing happened. I promise you will be safe. I won't let anything happen to you."

Hermione stared into his gorgeous silver eyes, full of sincerity and pure love and caring for her.

She then smiled. Draco lifted his arm a bit, to let her know he was still there. But Hermione took a step back.

Draco looked at her confused.

Hermione smiled again in reassurance. "Let me change first." She said.

He nodded and smiled.

Hermione quickly threw a pair of jeans over her pajama bottoms, since they were shorts. She then put a sweater over her t-shirt. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and slipped her tennis shoes on.

"I'm ready." She said as she walked back to the window.

Draco helped her get on the broom behind him. As Hermione turned back to the window to close it, she swept her eyes over the room to make sure that everyone was still sleeping.

She saw everyone as still as they could be. But as she tightened her hold around Draco's waist, she failed to see the set of brown eyes watching Hermione with a half smile on her lips.

_**Ok so I know I took a long time to update, and I could give you a hundred reasons why, but I don't have the energy, I will tell you however, that I have a bad case of author's block. Again. **_

_**It really sucks. **_

_**This might not be the best chapter, and it may not have been worth the wait. But I hope you forgive me. **_

_**Especially Stephanie Z. I'm really sorry. **_

_**So…who do you think the girl watching them was?**_

_**I'll take this moment to tell you that there are probably only about three to four chapter left of this story. Maybe less, maybe more. Who knows. **_

_**But anyways. **_

_**Reviews?**_

_**Yours, **_

_**leilygurl**_


	16. Trust Me

Thank you so much for the reviews

_**Thank you so much for the reviews!! Sorry for the delay. And the answer to the reviews will be now posted at the end of the chapter. **_

_**Hope you enjoy this one. **_

**Chapter 16 "Trust Me"**

"Ok how about that one. See, it looks like an umbrella." Draco traced the stars with his wand, leaving a light green shape of an umbrella.

A rather weird looking umbrella, Hermione thought. She giggled as she cuddled closer to Draco.

"It looks more like a melting house." Hermione said.

Draco laughed as he held her closer, just enjoying the moment.

They were laying down just at the edge of the black lake, looking up at the stars and making shapes with them.

They lay like that for a while, both of them in complete silence and in each other's arms, looking up at the dark sky full of bright, shining stars that somehow seemed to either celebrate their love or mock them for hiding it.

But Hermione chose to ignore the second one. She knew that she would have to tell her friends sooner or later. But as much as she loved Draco, she was still worried about what they would think.

But then she asked herself, what would happen if her friends wouldn't approve? Would she leave Draco? Or would she fight for him despite her friends' thoughts.

She would choose Draco over her friends, there was no doubt about that. She knew that there was no way she could ever, ever leave him. It would hurt her physically to do so.

She sighed as she noticed how far her thoughts had taken her. And although she was sure that some things she shouldn't be thinking, that some of them were even way too dramatic, she couldn't help but think if Draco would be as candid as her if he ever had to choose.

She buried her face into his neck, not really wanting to think of those things. But Draco noticed the sudden change in Hermione.

"What's wrong?" he asked her in soft voice as he tried to slide his fingers through her hair. It was impossible of course. So he just settled for playing with one of her soft curls, twirling it around his fingers.

Hermione lifted her head from his neck and rested it n his arm, to allow him to turn his face towards her.

Hermione looked into his grey ayes and smiled her best smile. "Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking that I should probably get back. I should be getting up in three hours."

Draco smiled back, but with teasing. "Three hours? You know, classes don't start until seven. And it's five hours until then."

"Yeah, but I always get up two hours earlier." Hermione said with a dry tone.

However, Draco continued to tease her. "And why would you do that? it only takes about half an hour to get ready, and another one to eat breakfast. You could get up at six."

"I don't like to be rushed." Was her simple answer. She turned her face again to the stars.

Draco laughed softly as he kissed her behind her ear. "Alright, alright. I won't argue with you. You have your schedule and I won't make you change it." He said with another kiss.

Hermione turned her face to his again. They looked into each other's eyes for a second before Draco leaned down and kissed her softly. He was about to pull away, but Hermione didn't let him. Taking hold of his shirt with her fist, she pulled him down to her, basically forcing him to kiss her.

He chuckled lightly against her lips just before he gave her what she wanted. Although they had kissed more than a few times already, the intensity and softness of her kisses never ceased to surprise him.

He still couldn't believe that all the feeling that she put into their kiss was all the love that she held for him. He couldn't get used to how soft she was, to how gentle and yet strong. He could never forget her taste either.

He sighed deeply as they parted for air.

"We should get back now." He said breathlessly.

"We should." Hermione said reluctantly.

Draco stood up first and with a hand helped Hermione to stand. They walked towards the broom.

Hermione stood watching as Draco positioned himself on the broom. He looked over at Hermione to tell her that she could get on, but he laughed as he was the tortured expression on her face.

"Come on, honey. Nothing will happen." Draco promised.

Hermione frowned. "Yeah right. Remember when we were on the field at camp, and you promised the same thing? If I do remember correctly, which I probably do, we did fall." Hermione said in a sour tone.

Draco laughed again. "That's true. But then again, you already flew with me today, and nothing happened. How come you weren't worried about that earlier?"

Hermione glared at him. "Because I was so caught up in being with you."

Draco smiled. "Well, I'm still here. With you."

Hermione smiled back at him. How could she not? but as she was about to walk towards Draco to sit behind him, Draco scooted back, not leaving enough space foe Hermione to sit.

Hermione stopped in her tracks, looked at him, and raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"Can I show you something?" Draco asked her.

"What?"

"It's a surprise."

"Um. I guess."

Draco smiled. "But for that you have to sit on the front."

"Why?" Hermione asked, now worrying a bit about his plans.

"Because you have to. You will see when it happens."

"What will happen?"

Draco rolled his eyes at her. "I'm not going to tell you. That's the surprise."

Hermione took in a deep breath. "Ok, fine." She answered as she went and positioned herself in front of him.

Draco put and arm around her waist, pulling him tighter against him so that he could reach the front of the broom with his left arm. It was rather hard to be holding on to her and to steer the broom at the same time. But Draco really wanted to show her his surprise. He thought that maybe that would help her get over her fears.

"Ok, we have to kick off together, remember?" Draco instructed.

Hermione nodded. "I remember."

"Ok. Ready, one, two three!" and with that they were on the air.

"So where are we going?" Hermione asked.

Draco wasn't paying much attention to her. Actually he was paying way too much attention to her. It was distracting to have her so close when he was managing the broom with only one hand.

But he still managed to answer her. "To the stars."

"What?" Hermione asked, not sure she understood correctly.

But Draco didn't answer. He now tried really hard to concentrate on where he was going. Hermione looked around her, and suddenly wished she had kept on looking straight forward.

She noticed that they were really far away from the ground. Further on the air than they had ever been. Or actually farther than _she_ had ever been, since Draco had done this before.

They were about three hundred and fifty feet into the air when all of a sudden Draco just made the broom float.

Hermione closed her eyes tightly, trying really hard to not look down.

"What now?" she asked in a really quiet whisper that made it obvious she was suffering.

Draco held her tighter and talked softly into her ear, trying to calm her. "Now you will experience the most amazing thing of your life."

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"Open your eyes."

"No."

Draco sighed in a frustrated way. Maybe this wasn't the best idea. Suddenly he thought of another one.

"Ok, how about this. Very calmly and slowly you will sit sideways-"

"What!" she interrupted with a yell.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Do let me finish."

"Ok fine." Hermione said with a sigh, her eyes still tightly shut.

"Ok, you will sit sideways, then I'll try and help you scoot back a bit so that you can sit correctly again, but facing me."

Hermione listened quietly, waiting for the moment for him to be done, and then…

"Are you out of your freaking mind! How the hell do you expect me to do that when we are so far off the ground!"

"I won't let you fall, I promise. And it's not that hard.

"Why do I have to do this?"

"Because, if you don't, you will hate me more after I show you my surprise."

"Hate you more? Meaning that I will hate you either way."

"I hope you don't, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Why would I hate you?"

'You will see,"

"Draco…"

"Hermione…"

"It won't be too dangerous, will it?"

"Nope. It won't." Draco tried to not emphasize on the word _too_, that way Hermione wouldn't worry so much.

"Ok, fine. But don't let me go." She said as she took hold of his arm tightly and tried to pull her leg over the broom to sit sideways.

After that was done, Draco helped her scoot back, just so that she could pass her other leg over the broom once more so that she was now facing him. Problem was, or actually, the thing that Hermione didn't like, was that she was no longer being held close to him. Meaning she could fall off at any time. She wasn't safe anymore.

"Draco…" she began,

But Draco saw the fear in her eyes and understood. So he pulled closer to her, and with a swift movement he had his thighs under hers, and his chest was against hers, his arms around her.

It was so fast that Hermione couldn't catch her breath. Although they had been closer than this, and in a very more comfortable way, Hermione still felt kind of giddy to be held in such a way. Surprised once again by her thoughts, Hermione blushed.

When Draco pulled back to make sure she was okay, but saw her scarlet red face, he couldn't help but laugh.

"You look so cute when you blush." He told her in a teasing voice.

Hermione only became redder at his comment, but she was still pleased. She smiled at him in a sweet way and said, "Honey, I look cute all the time."

Draco laughed harder at this. He would have never though those words would ever come out from that girl's mouth.

"You know, maybe it's affecting you to be spending so much time with me. I think my ego is being rubbed off on you. Besides, you're wrong. You don't look cute all the time-"

Hermione interrupted him. "Ok, so I'm not cute. Did you really have to point that out?"

Draco looked at her with an amused face. "Will you ever stop interrupting me?"

Hermione stared at him, her expression blank.

"I was going to say that you don't look cute all the time. You look beautiful." He finished with a weird smile on his face.

Hermione blushed again, much to her dismay. "Ok, so will you give me your surprise or not?"

Draco's smile became that of a excited person. "Of course."

He then pressed Hermione against him once again. Hermione put her arms around his waist. Draco put his arms around her too so that she was safely snug into the shape of his body.

"Ready?" he said into her ear."

Hermione shrugged. "I guess."

"Do you trust me?"

"I do."

Draco could still feel her nervousness.

"Trust me." He instructed.

"Always." Hermione answered.

And all of the sudden, they were falling.

Draco had pulled back, bringing Hermione along. Now he was on his back, Hermione on top of him, and they were going straight into the ground.

At first Hermione was so frightened that she couldn't even yell, but when she found her voice, she let out a bloodcurdling scream that nearly made Draco go deaf.

Maybe having her be on top wasn't the best idea.

"Draco!" Hermione yelled.

It took Draco some time and energy to manage to turn and now be the one on top, that way Hermione wasn't facing the ground again.

"Shh." Draco said in an attempt to soothe her.

And just when they were about to hit the ground, Draco pulled up, causing the broom to halt to a stop.

Draco waited for Hermione's reaction. She was shaking in his arms, her breath coming in ragged bits.

"What…was…that?" She asked in between breaths.

"It was a free fall." He said calmly.

"A free fall." She repeated. She hated the tone in his voice. Here she thought that they were about to die, and he is so calm.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked after a couple of minutes waiting for her to say something else.

"You are so going to wish that this free fall of yours had killed you." Hermione muttered darkly.

Draco laughed. "I have done this a thousand times. It's as safe as taking a walk in the park."

"You mean as taking a walk in the forbidden forest." Hermione retorted.

Draco laughed again.

"Take me back to my room." Hermione said after a while.

Draco frowned. "Are you mad?"

"No. but my head won't stop spinning."

"Oh. Sorry." Draco said as he landed on the ground. He helped Hermione off and sat her on the cold and wet grass. "Put you head between your knees. It might help a bit."

Hermione did just that. After a while most of the dizziness was gone.

"You don't hate me do you?" Draco asked half jokingly, but Hermione could hear the real worry in his voice.

She lifted her head slowly and smiled at him. "No, I don't."

Draco smiled back, relieved. "So what did you think?"

"That you are crazier than Luna." Hermione muttered.

Draco laughed. "Wasn't it exciting?"

"Oh yeah. Woohoo! Super." Hermione said, her voice dripping sarcasm.

Draco frowned. "Hermione…"

Hermione looked up at him again and smiled. "It was fun. In a weird and horrifying way. But it was still fun."

"So want to do it again."

"Yeah, um, I think I'll pass." She said as she stood up.

Draco laughed again. "Chicken." He whispered.

Hermione still heard him. "Nope. Just rational."

"Right." He snickered.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Can you just take me to my room now?"

"Sure." Draco answered as he got on the broom again.

"No more free falls." Hermione said before she took her place behind him.

"No more." He promised, his right hand raised.

Hermione laughed. "Ok, psycho, let's go." With that they pushed off and flew to the Gryffindor tower, where trouble was sure to be waiting.

000000000000

**A/N**

**So I really hope you liked this chapter. I wasn't going to describe what happened during their midnight meeting, but then I thought, why not? it would be another chapter, and that would make the story longer!**

**Ha. So that was my idea. But anyways. **

**Before I answer your reviews, I will like to say that most of the time, my stories really have nothing to do with the books. The reason for this, I hate to have rules. So in the book, fourth year was the triwizard tournament. But if I put that in my story, they couldn't have gone to the camp. So I took that part out. Also, I know Ginny and Harry don't get together like until the sixth book. But I needed a distraction for Ginny, and I just thought that I would be nice to them and give them more time to be together. Aren't I a great person?**

**Well anyways, here are the replies to the people who reviewed. **

**Gryfferin Princess - **** ok, so you will find out who the girl was in the next chapter. And yeah, sadly, just a few chapters left. I think I will have more than the ones I planned though, but who knows. Thank you for reviewing. Oh, and I think Ginny has brown eyes, but Ginny isn't in Hermione's dorm…so. Hm, wonder who could it be. Lol**

**Wondersofttheworld- **** thank you! I'm so happy you liked it. that's a guess, but you will find out next chapter. Thank you for the review.**

**Hermione-Loves-Ron16311-**** thank you for reviewing. I'm happy that you liked it. so what did you think about this one?**

**Kat.1600-**** Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked it. **

**Azrulai****- That would be a great one, wouldn't it? lol. If it is Lavender, I feel so sorry for Draco and Hermione. Lol. Thank you for the review!**

**Stephanie Z- ****wow, a letter! Lol. Just kidding. Thank you for the review. And yeah, I can tell you like details. But like I explained in the beginning of my last author's note, I don't really like to follow the rules. it complicates things. So I have an idea, lets pretend that they kiss because Ginny tries to show him that she likes him and that she can be better for him than Cho! See how quickly I fix things. Then they can get together in the sixth book. And yeah, I know that they are in different dorms. But you will find out who the girl was in the next chapter. But if you read the chapter 15 again, nowhere does it say where the girl is at, or what she is doing, apart from smiling at Hermione. If you didn't understand my hint, just ignore it, it will become clear on the next chapter. I'm glad you liked the note part. Personally, that was my favorite part. I wasn't really happy with the chapter, but that note made it all better. Lol. And thank you for the ideas, I think I can use some of them. The whole scene is already forming in my head. Hm. But anyways. Sorry for making you wait so long. But I hope this chapter made up for it. :**

**So….**

**Review?**

**Yours, **

**leilygurl**


	17. I Know Your Secret

A/N ok so I have taken quite a while, and I do realize most of you must be furious with me, but I'm terribly sorry

**A/N**_** ok so I have taken quite a while, and I do realize most of you must be furious with me, but I'm terribly sorry. But come on people, its summer, I'm so not the only that has taken so long to update. **_

_**But I hope you guys are still interested in this story and I hope you continue to read it. **_

_**Oh, one other thing, the last chapter was dedicated to my bestfriend, Adriana. So I realize that it didn't make much sense, and it was rather useless, but it was something that she asked me to write, so if you guys didn't like it or didn't quite get it, ignore it, it wasn't that important. **_

_**And one other thing, it has come to my attention that Ginny does have blue eyes, hm, now that changes my story. I had done my research, and I was told that she had brown eyes. But now I have been corrected by you, my dear readers, so I guess I will change the character, since I, of course, can't change the eye color of the girl! So with that, I leave you to find out who said spying girl was, or is. :p**_

_**Enjoy!  
**_

_**Ps: The answers to your reviews are at the end of the chapter. **_

**Chapter 17 "I know Your Secret"**

"Hermione! Hermione, wake up!"

Hermione grumbled an incoherent response as she pulled the blankest over her head, trying to block the light coming in through the window, and the loud screeches of a certain redhead that was now trying to shake the life out of her.

"You will be late to class," the girl continued to yell.

Hermione swatted away the hand that tried to pull the pillow out from under her head.

"Damn it, Ginny. What do you want?!" Hermione asked, now sticking her head out a bit, since the whole ignore-her-and-she-might-leave thing wasn't working.

"I want you to get up, get dresses, and go to breakfast." Ginny answered with a commanding voice.

"Anything else, your highness?" Hermione responded as she pulled the blankets over her head once again.

Ginny smacked at where she supposed Hermione's head was. "No, that's pretty much it."

"What time is it?" Hermione asked with a yawn.

Ginny looked at the clock that Hermione kept on her nightstand. A small smile crept about her lips.

"Its ten minutes till class starts." Ginny answered in an offhand tone.

"What?!" Hermione yelled as she literally jumped off the bed, pushing the covers to the floor, along with Ginny.

"Ow!" Ginny yelled in protest as she rubbed her elbow, and then her head.

Hermione looked at her clock. "Ginny! It's an hour until class starts!"

"I know," Ginny said with a sigh as she continued to rub where she had been hit. "I just needed to get you up, but if I had known you would get up like that, I should have gotten off the bed first."

"Serves you right." Hermione answered as she grabbed her blankets from the floor. However, Ginny was seating on them. Hermione smiled as she tugged hard at the covers, making Ginny fly backwards. Again.

"What the hell!" Ginny yelled as she landed on her back, her head resting on a hardcover book.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" Hermione said, a hand at her chest. She tried her best not to laugh, causing her face to become really red.

Ginny glared at her friend. "You did that on purpose!"

"Did not!"

"Did too. Now, quit trying to hold back the laugh, you look like a beaten tomato." Ginny responded as she got up from the ground.

Hermione glared at her friend as she gasped dramatically. "That hurt!" Hermione said in an aghast tone.

"Yeah, well. So does that!" Ginny pointed with her index finger at her leg, where a red spot was growing. Sure enough, it would become a bruise.

Hermione laughed. "Okay, so we are even now." She said as she did her bed, and then continued to walk to the bathroom to wash up and get dressed.

Ginny followed after her. Hermione tried her best to ignore her as she got behind the shower curtain and proceeded to get undressed.

"So, anything interesting happened at the camp?" Ginny asked. She was sitting on the bathroom floor, looking at her nails.

Hermione's head snapped up. "You know Ginny; it's rather awkward to be talking to someone when I'm taking a shower."

Ginny laughed. "Oh, come on Hermione." She answered as if Hermione had jus said the silliest thing.

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

Hermione sighed. "Interesting…like what?"

Ginny shrugged. "Anything."

"Well,"

"Well, what?"

"I did get to find out how many different flowers there are than can stop the itching of a mosquito bite." Hermione answered, trying to sound nonchalant.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean,"

"No, I don't."

"Where there any cute guys?'

"Yeah."

"Did you speak to any of them?"

"I shared a room with him." Hermione said, thinking about Draco.

"You did!" Ginny exclaimed.

Hermione realized her mistake as she slapped her forehead, causing soap to jump into her eyes.

"Ow!" She exclaimed.

"What?" Ginny asked, a bit worried.

"I got soap in my eye."

"And they call you the smartest witch of the century." Ginny snorted.

"I am only human," Hermione muttered.

"A human who apparently shared a room with a hot guy." Ginny continued.

There was no way to bat Ginny off the conversation. Hermione sighed.

"Tell me all about it!" Ginny commanded.

"Can you wait till I'm out of the shower?" Hermione grunted.

"No."

"Too bad."

Ginny laughed again. "Come on."

Hermione sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"What was the guy's name?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. She had forgotten that she had also shared a room with Alex. She smiled. She was safe!

"Alexander."

"Ooh! Sexy name! Where was he from?"

"Spain."

"Did he have the accent?"

"Yes."

"Nice."

"You disgust me."

Ginny laughed. "Why is that?"

"You only care about the outside."

"Oh, I'm sure he is a nice guy."

Hermione laughed. "Right."

"So who else did you share the room with?"

"A girl named Isabella, also from Spain, and Malfoy."

"Was the girl pretty?"

"Very."

"I bet Malfoy was after her, huh?"

"Actually I think they became really good friends." Hermione said, a knot forming on her throat.

"Guys like Malfoy don't have female friends."

"Well, that's what it looked like. Besides, Alex and Bella sort of got together."

"Really? So nothing happened between you and Alex?"

"Nope."

"Bummer." Ginny sounded disappointed.

Hermione laughed. "You sound heartbroken."

"I am."

"Why would you be?" Hermione asked as she shut the water off.

"Because, that means I can't read my best friend at all."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked while she tried to get dressed without letting the clothes touch the ground. Damn Ginny.

"Well, when you came back from camp, you had this certain glow about you that I was sure you had hooked up with someone."

Hermione laughed. "First of all Ginny, I don't 'hook up'."

Ginny laughed. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah,"

"So, I was hoping you had found someone. But it seems like you didn't. So, care to tell me why you were glowing?"

Hermione began to walk out the bathroom as she brushed her hair. Ginny followed her.

"I don't know Ginny. Its not like I check in the mirror every five minutes to see if I'm glowing and try to figure out why I might be glowing."

"I know that. But I was just wondering."

"Well, maybe I just felt relaxed. It has been a long time since I really felt like nothing in the world mattered more than what I was doing at the moment. I just suddenly stopped being a member of the 'golden trio' as people call us, and was just, well, Hermione Granger, typical witch."

"Yeah, I guess it must be hard to be Harry Potter's bestfriend." Ginny said, looking at her friend with new eyes.

Hermione smiled at her friend as she pulled her shoes on. "Well, It cant be as hard as being his girlfriend."

"Oh, shut up." Ginny muttered as she threw a pillow at Hermione.

Hermione laughed and threw it back at Ginny. The redhead placed it back where it belonged and sighed.

"Come on, let's go get some breakfast." Hermione said as she gathered all her books in her arms.

Ginny smiled as she too got up and straightened her uniform. "Okay."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Hey there, Hermione." Hermione heard a voice call from behind her.

She was on her way to the gardens, where she had promised Draco she would meet him for lunch.

Hermione turned when she heard her name, and found non other than Lavender Brown, and Parvati Patil walking side by side towards her.

"Hey guys," Hermione answered. Much to her surprise, her voice sounded dry. She cleared her throat silently.

"What are you up to?" Parvati asked.

"You are not sneaking off with a guy are you?" Lavender added. There was a certain look on her eyes that Hermione didn't quite understand, but she had a feeling it wasn't a good thing.

Not at all.

Hermione cleared her throat again in an attempt to sound normal. "You don't see a guy, do you?"

Lavender shrugged. "I though I saw one last night."

Hermione froze, her eyes met coldly with Lavender's"

"Who you see is not my problem." Hermione responded, trying to turn the conversation around, hopefully confusing the girls.

It seemed to work, since Parvati's face was blank. And Lavender was raising a brow. Hermione gave a small smile before she turned around, to be stopped, once again, by that annoying voice.

"I know your secret."

Hermione froze, but stayed with her back to the girls.

"I know what you, Hermione Granger, were up to last night."

Hermione slowly turned around, meeting the girl's eyes again. She did not like the smirk on her face.

They stared at each other for a second, before Hermione spoke.

"Really, and what was that?"

"I saw you go out that window with a guy."

"Oh," Hermione answered with a small nod and a nonchalant tone.

Lavender did not like that response, she expected for the girl to yell, to stutter, to become red. She expected so much more than that cool response.

"Would you mind telling me who the guy was?" Hermione asked, her tone still calm. She was trying to sidetrack Lavender. But it wasn't working. She was trying to somehow trick her into believing that she had dram everything.

Lavender cleared her throat.

"Damn" Parvati muttered.

Hermione turned to her. "What?"

But Lavender elbowed Parvati on the ribs.

"So Granger, how much are you willing to give up for us to keep your secret?"

Hermione smiled coldly.

"I don't have a secret." She answered, and with that, she turned around once again to resume her walking.

"But, I saw you!" Lavender yelled from behind her.

Hermione turned around quickly, but with certain confidence that confused both girls in front of her.

"You saw me, yes. But you have no idea who my companion was."

Lavender understood at once that she had been discovered. But she was not going to allow for Hermione to get away with that one.

"Are you sure?" She asked coolly.

"I am."

Lavender's smile matched Hermione's, and for a split second, Hermione worried.

"We will see what you think when the whole school finds out." Lavender said as she herself began to turn around, pulling Parvati along with her.

Hermione's smirk became more pronounced.

"Then we shall. But dear Lavender, you should know better than to threaten me." Hermione answered, as she resumed her walking again, not stopping this time.

Lavender watched Hermione walk away with her eyes narrowed.

"What will we do now?" Parvati asked.

"Now, we find out who the damned guy is."

**A/N**

**Stephanie Z –**** Look! I updated! Haha, sorry for taking so long, but due to your threats, I updated. I know I took longer than I promised, but hey, I'm done with finals too! So more updates. so yeah, like I said at the beginning, it doesn't matter if you didn't really understood, or couldn't visualize, like I said, the chapter was an idea that my friend gave me, so it was rather hard to visualize her idea, and try to write it down, but I'm glad you liked it. **

**Azrulai - **** So, hope you are happy now! :p **

**hjpatcos - **** yup it does. :p lol **

**kat.1600 –**** I know! That is my favorite thing. so, prepare to see more of them together. :p**

**Hermione-Loves-Ron16311 –**** Sorry I took so long. but enough with the apologies. :p I'm glad you liked the last chapter. so what do you think of this one?**

**Gryfferin Princess - **** the point of the free fall, was just something, I don't know, something else for them to do together. There wasn't really a point or reason for it. **

**But yeah, glad you liked it. **

**So there you go, now you know who saw them. And who will be stalking Hermione too. Haha. Anyways. Again, terribly sorry for taking so long. But im on my vacations now! And if I you guys review, I promise, and I will keep the promise, to update this Saturday, that is in four days, or maybe sooner :p. or I will just update next week. Its up to you. **

**so…**

**review?**

**Yours, **

**leilygurl**


	18. Deeds and Thank yous

A/N

**A/N**

**Thank you guys for the reviews, story alerts, and favorites! They truly made my day! Although, I would really appreciate it if the ones that put me on their lists would review as well, that way I can know what you are thinking. So please keep that in mind. **

**So, back to the story. **

**Chapter 18 "Deeds and Thank yous"**

Hermione was sitting at the Gryffindor table, trying her best to not look over at the Slytherin table, or rather at a certain blonde boy who sat at the table, but it was rather hard, considering that she was sitting right in front of him.

They kept on stealing little glances at each other, and every time that their eyes met, they would both smile quickly as they tried to look away only to look back again a second later.

This had been going on for about forty-five minutes now, and Hermione was desperately trying to not make things too obvious, but there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Hello Hermione," Lavender said as she sat next to Hermione.

Hermione looked at her with narrowed eyes for a second, before smiling tightly and answering her greeting.

"Good evening, Lavender."

"How was your week, anything new and exiting? Any adventures?" Lavender asked with a tone that clearly implied that she knew something. The girl was obviously up to no good.

Ginny turned to look at Hermione with her eyes full of questions. Hermione shrugged and turned to look at Lavender again.

"Nope, nothing. Just the usual."

"Really. Have you been sleeping well? You look terrible." Lavender noted.

"I have been sleeping perfectly well, thank you."

"Oh, I do hope so. You know how important it is to get your eight hours of sleep. I hope you haven't been staying up too late."

Hermione smiled tightly at the girl again. "Don't worry about me, just make sure you get through the week safely."

Lavender returned the over-sweet smile Hermione was giving her. "I will do just that." she replied before moving a couple of seats down and immediately starting a conversation with Parvati and some other girls.

Hermione smiled in triumph.

"What was all that about?" Ginny asked Hermione.

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know how her mind works."

Ginny didn't look convinced. "Lavender doesn't start anything unless she has a reason."

"What are you getting at?"

"Hermione, I have a feeling you are keeping something from me."

'Oh Ginny, stop it."

"Stop what?"

"This!"

"Then tell me what's going on with you!" Ginny said, trying hard to keep her voice from rising.

Harry and Ron turned to look at the girls, but decided to keep away, thinking that it must be that time of the month for one of them. Besides, they had learnt to keep out of the way when those two girls were having an argument.

"Nothing's going on."

"Hermione,"

"Ginny,"

The girls looked at each other for a full minute, each trying to read each other's thoughts. Both of their moths were set into thin lines, both of their faces were somewhat red.

"Ok fine., so if you don't want to trust me, don't. Just know that it hurts Hermione, it hurts to see that there is obviously something going on in my bestfriend's life, something big, and that she doesn't trust me enough to tell me."

"Ginny, it's not that,"

"Then what is it, Hermione? Why isn't that you can't tell me?"

"I, I just can't."

"Never mind then." Ginny answered as she stood up and started to walk towards the door.

"Ginny," Hermione called as she began to follow her friend.

"I said forget it." Ginny answered without stopping.

Hermione stopped in her tracks and just stood there, staring after her friend, unaware of the curious glances on her.

"What's wrong with her?" Ron asked from behind her.

Hermione turned to Ron and shrugged. "Don't worry about it."

She went back to where she was sitting and picked up her books, as she glanced up, she met Draco's eyes. He raised an eyebrow at her, a silent question.

Hermione didn't react to it, knowing she still had eyes on her. But she did make a very discreet motion with her head, motioning for him to follow her.

Draco nodded once, and Hermione turned back to Harry and Ron. "I'm going to the library. Don't worry about Ginny; I'll talk to her later. Bye."

"Bye," The boys answered at the same time.

And with that, Hermione continued to walk out of the great hall. As she rounded the corner, she crashed into Draco.

"Ow," She whined.

Draco laughed quietly. "That desperate to be with me love?" He asked as he held her in his arms to steady her.

"Oh, shut up."

Draco laughed again, gave her a quick kiss on the lips, took her hand, and started to pull her down the hall.

"So what was going on in there?" Draco asked.

"Remember that I told you that Lavender saw us at the window?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, she keeps on bothering me. Every time she speaks to me she does it in a way that implies that she and I are sharing a little secret, and well, Ginny has noticed."

"She is still going on about that?"

"You know Lavender; she won't stop until she gets what she wants,"

"True,"

Hermione sighed.

"What are you going to do about Ginny?"

Hermione suddenly stopped walking and turned to her Draco. "Do you mind if I tell her?"

Draco stared at Hermione. "You mean, tell her that we are together?"

"Yeah," Hermione bit her bottom lip, waiting for his answer.

Draco stared into Hermione's eyes, not sure of what to tell her. He hadn't seen that coming. Ok, so that was a complete lie, he had seen that coming. He knew that he couldn't keep his and Hermione's relationship hidden forever, but he still didn't know what too do.

If the school found out that they were dating, he knew that that would be a great hit to his reputation, but he didn't quite care about that.

But he couldn't help but think about he words he had told her back at camp, when they had been in that cave.

He knew that her friends wouldn't like it, that's his father wouldn't allow it, that the world would not agree. But they would have to deal with that. He decided that they would cross that bridge when they came to stand in front of it. Right now, what was the harm of Hermione confiding in her bestfriend?

So he smiled warmly at her. "No, I don't mind. I wouldn't want you to keep on fighting with your friend because of me."

Hermione smiled brightly. "Are you sure?"

Draco smiled wider at the girl's enthusiasm. "Yeah,"

"Oh, thank you!" Hermione said, throwing her arms around his neck and planting a huge kiss on his lips.

Draco smiled against her lips as he returned the kiss and wrapped his own arms tightly around her waist.

When they both pulled back to catch their breaths, Draco chuckled lightly. "If that's how you will thank me every time you are thankful, then I should definitely start doing nicer things for you."

Hermione laughed and shrugged nonchalantly. "The bigger and nicer the deed, the bigger and nicer the thanks."

Draco laughed again. "Really," he said as he gave her a peck on the lips.

Hermione smiled and kissed him back. "Just letting you know."

"I'll keep that in mind." Draco whispered as he pushed her against the wall and kissed her neck.

Hermione giggled. "I should go." She said.

"But why?" he whined as he straightened up to look into her eyes.

"Because it's late, and I should talk to Ginny."

Draco sighed as he let go of her and only held her hand. "Oh, alright."

Hermione smiled and stood on her tipitoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I really do have the most understanding boyfriend in the world." She noted.

Draco turned to look at her. "So, I'm your boyfriend?" he asked teasingly.

Hermione blushed, remembering that he had never asked her to be his girlfriend. "Well, I just thought…"

Draco laughed. "Hermione Granger, you took me for granted!" Draco continued to tease.

Hermione slapped his arm playfully. "I did not. I just figured. But then if you aren't my boyfriend, what are you?"

"That's a very good question."

"And how will you answer it?"

Suddenly Draco leaned down and propped himself up on one knee. Hermione stopped walking and looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Hermione Jane Granger, will you be my girlfriend?"

Hermione laughed and tried to get him up by pulling on his arm. "Draco," she hissed, "Someone can see you."

"Well then answer quickly so that I can get up."

Hermione laughed again. "Ok, yes. I would love to be your girlfriend."

Draco smiled. "Now, are you sure?"

Hermione laughed again. "Positive."

"Great!" Draco said as he stood up.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Come on,"

Draco laughed as he allowed her to pull him wherever it was that she was walking to.

00000000000

"Ginny," Hermione called as she made her way to Ginny's dorm.

Ginny looked up from her bed, where she was sitting. "What do you want?" she asked sourly.

Hermione frowned. "Can I speak to you?"

Ginny shrugged. "Think you trust me enough?"

"Oh Ginny," Hermione said as she walked towards the bed and sat next to her friend.

Ginny shifted slightly to the side.

"I have a secret to tell you." Hermione whispered.

"Really, what? You got an 'A' on a test?"

Hermione nudged her slightly on the shoulder and leaned to whisper into her friend's ear. "I have a boyfriend."

Ginny turned to Hermione and shrieked. "What?!"

"Shh, Ginny!" Hermione answered as she looked around to make sure no one had heard.

"Come on,' Hermione said taking her by the hand and walking towards the bathroom. Once she was sure no one was inside, she sat Ginny on the ground, sat next to her, and cast a silent charm on the room.

"Who is it? when did it happen? Do I know him? How long have you liked him?"

"Ginny,"

"Tell me everything!"

"You do know him,"

"And,"

"And,"

"Who is it?"

Hermione sighed. "I need you to have an open mind here," Hermione warned.

"Just tell me,"

Hermione sighed again. "Draco Malfoy."

Ginny laughed. "Ok, now. For real."

Hermione stared at her friend.

Ginny gasped. "Oh My God, you aren't kidding!"

"No, I'm not."

"How did this happen? Hermione, have you lost your mind?"

"No, I haven't."

"Why him? When?"

"Well, it all began during the Christmas dance," Hermione began to tell her friend the whole story.

"Wow," Ginny said once Hermione had finished.

"Yeah,"

"So you really like him, then?"

"Really." Hermione answered.

"But, Draco Malfoy,"

Hermione sighed. "I know."

"Who would have thought?"

Hermione laughed. "Tell me about it."

"And are you sure he really does feel about you the way you make it seem?"

Hermione nodded. "I have thought about it, I have thought about the fact that he might be making fun of me, that he might have been playing games…"

"And?"

"And, I guess I'll just have to trust him."

"Have you told anyone else?"

"No, you're the first."

"Are you planning on telling anyone else?"

"Eventually,"

"Well, I would say to hurry up before Lavender opens her mouth."

"True," Hermione answered.

**A/N**

**Ok, so I'm sorry, but I don't have time to reply to your reviews, but ill let you know that I do appreciate them **

**So you see, I kept my promise,**

**Now I hope you review.**

**Yours,**

**leilygurl**


	19. Meanwhile

A/N

**A/N**

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews! Although I am a bit sad, since I didn't get as many reviews as I would have liked. Still, for those of you who did review, know that you truly did make my day.**

**Now, if you are putting me in your alerts and favorites, pretty please, leave a review. **

**Chapter 19 "Meanwhile…" **

"Damn!" Lavender said once she had searched the whole library, and not finding what she had been looking for. Or rather **who **she had been looking for.

Parvati sat heavily on one of the library chairs, dropping her head hard on the table. "This is stupid. What the hell are we doing anyway?"

"She said she would be here." Lavender mumbled.

"Yeah, well obviously she isn't."

"No shit."

Parvati looked at her friend. "So, what now?"

Lavender sighed as she sat across from Parvati. "I don't know."

Lavender looked outside the window. She didn't know what she was doing, or why she was obsessing over whom Hermione was seeing. All she knew was that she needed to find out.

Well, actually, now that she thought about it, she did know the reason. Despite the fact that over the years Hermione and Lavender had been _civilized_ to each other, Lavender still did not like Hermione one tiny bit. She had always thought the girl was a stuck up bitch.

Lavender didn't like the fact that everyone always seemed to praise Hermione for her brains, for being part of the famous golden trio, for her '_outstanding ability to get along with others'. _

Lavender grimaced as she remembered the way Professor McGonagall had described Hermione.

She didn't like that girl. It was that simple.

'She isn't even that pretty! I'm obviously so much better than her in many ways. I don't know why everyone likes her so much when she is so awful! She goes around acting as if she owned the world, and only because she is best friends with the boy who bloody lived.' Lavender thought.

And in fact, that was how Lavender saw things. To her it wasn't fair that Hermione Granger passed almost as the perfect girl when she, Lavender Brown, was so much nicer. She had more class, was feminine, had many friends, was much more popular, was more beautiful, and yet, she didn't have a boyfriend.

That was what bothered her the most. Despite the fact that she was more popular than Hermione, Hermione was spoken about so much more often than her. And she didn't like that at all.

So when she had seen Hermione go out the window with that boy, it had been as if right away, a light bulb had turned on over her head as it happened in cartoons. She finally had a way of showing to the world that Hermione wasn't the goody-two-shoes that everyone seemed to think she was.

If Hermione was sneaking out the window during the middle of the might with a boy meant that she was anything but a good girl. And Lavender felt like if it was her duty to lift the blindfold from everyone's eyes.

Hermione Granger was going down!

Lavender sighed, remembering that the only argument she had right now was that she saw Hermione Granger jump out the window into a boy's broom. Lavender knew that if she spoke right then, and only gave that information, it would go around the school in less time then it would take her to say _fashion_.

But she also knew that not many people would believe her, especially because she wouldn't be able to give names, and most of all, she knew that her word wasn't trusted as much as it used to be.

Either way, she was sure that she was going to once again loose to Hermione Granger. So that was why it was so important to figure out who Hermione was secretly seeing, and most of all why she was secretly seeing whoever the person was.

Lavender sighed desperately again, remembering everything that she had seen that week. She had been watching Hermione very closely since she had had that argument with her in the corridors, but so far she had nothing on her.

Lavender even thought that Hermione must have had broken things off with the mystery guy, since nothing looked suspicious. But once, when she had made her way up the Gryffindor Tower, Lavender had seen Harry walking in front of her along with Ginny and Ron. She had also heard what they were talking about, and was pleased to hear that Ron was asking his friends if they had seen Hermione around, and the other two had answered that they had spent less and less time with her during that week.

So that cleared up Lavender's idea that Hermione was no longer seeing that one guy. But it still made things so much harder.

"Draco…?"

Lavender turned sharply to where that voice had come from, just as Parvati raised her head from the table.

"Draco… Are you in here?" came that voice again.

Lavender met Parvati's eyes just as she recognized that voice.

"Parkinson" they mouthed just as Pansy came into view.

"Oh," Pansy said as she saw the two girls sitting at the table. "Have you seen Draco?"

Lavender looked at the Slytherin with disgust. "I though Malfoy was too good for this library."

Pansy smirked. "Yeah, I though so too, but apparently, he likes to spend time in here. I don't know why."

"Really? Since when?" Parvati asked.

Pansy stared at the two girls, not knowing if she could trust them. The truth was that she knew why Draco liked to go into the library. It was because he was smart, and unlike most of his fellow Slytherin mates, he actually liked to study. At least that had been the reason he had given her when she had asked why he started going to the library so often.

She knew that Draco would not like it if she revealed this information, but she was bored, and she wanted to know why Parvati seemed way too interested.

So she shrugged as she answered. "Almost since New Years. Of course, he did go to that camp, so he stopped coming, but once he arrived he came more and more often."

"Well, I haven't seen him here at all, and I have been here quite a while." Lavender responded.

She felt like she was missing something. It was as if that light bulb thingy was turning on, but needed a little push to shine brightly.

"Lavender," Parvati called.

"What?"

"You don't think…?" Parvati asked.

Lavender once again met Parvati's eyes. She understood completely well what Parvati was guessing, and it seemed to click perfectly.

Hermione Granger was seeing Draco Malfoy.

But could that be possible. As much sense it had, it also sounded impossible. There was no way the Slytherin Prince would date the Gryffindor Princess. Or could it be?

"What are you two thinking about?" Pansy asked, a bit preoccupied that she had said a bit too much.

"Pansy, can we trust you with a secret?" Parvati asked.

"A secret?"

"Yes, but you have to swear that once we tell you, you will do anything that is in your power to help us."

"And what do I get out of this?"

Lavender and Parvati smiled fully at the girl in front of them.

"Answers." The girls answered together.

**A/N**

**Bwuahahaha. **

**Haha. So..hope you guys like my little cliffhanger. So I wasn't going to update until Sunday, but I decided why not give you guys a little clue of what to expect on the next chapter. Lol. **

**So now you have to wait and see. **

**I know this chapter is really short, but hey, it's just a sneak peak. **

**Now, to answer your reviews from this chapter and last….**

**Stephanie Z**** – I am so glad you liked both of my chapters so much. And I'm sorry if they do seem a bit too short, but give me a break, I just started writing again. Either way, yes you're right, your reviews did make my week, and I'm glad I made yours. **

**I do love your super long reviews. Haha. So yeah, the part where he pushes her against the wall… lol. Yeah, my fave part too. **

**Anyways… once again.. thank you so much for reviewing. **

**kat.1600 **** - see, Ginny did find out! Lol, glad you liked it. **

**Gryfferin Princess**** – to tell you the truth, I wasn't even planning on putting lavender in this story at all. It just came to me one morning. Seriously. I must have dram with that. lol. Either way, I'm super glad that you liked it. **

**jessirose ****– I'm glad you loved it. and yes… I am happy that Ginny now knows…I couldn't let our dear Hermione go through this alone, specially because of everything that is now coming her way!**

**So thank you all for your amazing reviews. I really do love them, and really they do make my week. I love you all. Lol**

**Ok so before I get too emotional…. Haha… hope you guys still like this story. Please tell me if you are loosing interest and if you have any suggestions on how to make it better, feel free to tell me. I am, after all, taking the advice of some of my reviewers on how the rest of the world will find out. **

**Heehee.**

**So**

**Review?**

**Yours,**

**leilygurl **


	20. Caught!

A/N

**A/N **

**Thank you so much, for those of you who reviewed, I truly appreciate it. Although I am a bit sad, since I only got two reviews. Seriously people, if you take the time to read this story, and to put me in your alerts and favorites, im sure you could take the time to give me a review. Something to let me know what you think. Please. **

**Chapter 20 "Caught!"**

"Morning," Hermione greeted her friends as she walked into the common room. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and Hermione was in a very good mood now that she had told her bestfriend everything. Now she only hoped there was an easy way she could tell Harry and Ron, but she knew that would be impossible. But she had to tell them sometime, so that worry sort of clouded her day a bit, but Hermione was determined to not let anything ruin her day.

"Good morning, 'Mione" Ron answered her with a cheerful smile. "You look happy today,"

"Do I?" Hermione murmured, trying to look nonchalant.

"Ronald!" Ginny yelled.

Ron looked up startled. "What?" he asked with a frown.

"You actually noticed something!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well usually you're only thinking about food this time of the day,"

Ron's face became red with anger as he threw one of the pillows from the couch to Ginny. Everyone that was in the common room started laughing, causing for Ron to blush harder.

"Come on you guys, let get to breakfast," Harry told his friends, a smile still on his face. Ron only glared harder at him.

Hermione saw her friends walking in front of her, all of them smiling widely and making jokes. She smiled. It was going to be a good day. Except that she had this strange feeling that something big was going to happen. Still, she couldn't quite place if said thing was going to be good or not. She only felt weird.

000000

So far her day had been going well. Lavender kept on giving her strange looks that Hermione didn't quite understand, but she soon decided that it wasn't important. The only bad thing about her day was that she hadn't gotten a chance to be alone with Draco at all. Sure she had seen him walking around with his friends, at breakfast and during lunch, but she still wished for a at least some time with him.

And that's what she got. She was sitting in Potions, the last class of the day, and Draco was sitting right next to her. Ok, so this wasn't exactly what she had meant when she hoped for time with him, especially since there wasn't much they could talk about without being heard.

And yet Hermione was happy as she felt his thumb tracing circles into the back of her hand. But their hands where placed underneath the table, so one could see what they were doing. All Hermione had to do was keep her smile in control.

They were sitting as far from each other as the desks would allow, but it wasn't much, especially in that small cluttered classroom. For the first time in her life Hermione began to like the room.

The best part was that they were sitting at the very back; Hermione had to give Draco credit for choosing those seats. It was really the best place to sit if you wanted at least some sort of privacy. And right now, for Hermione it was enough.

Suddenly Draco let go of her hand as he reached for a quill and a piece of parchment. Hermione tried her best to not look at him, and to continue gazing at the board, where the professor was explaining the effects of a potion Hermione had already made in her second year.

Draco scribbled something on the paper and quickly, yet discreetly slid the parchment over to Hermione's side of the desk. Hermione waited a second before she looked down to read what he had written.

**So what are we doing today?**

Hermione smiled slightly as she herself picked up her quill and placed the note on top of her opened notebook so it would seem as if she were taking notes, instead of passing them.

_Beats me. Any suggestions?_

**A few. But not really. **

_Then?_

**Well, as much as I would like to spend more time with you, we really can't keep on staying up late. **

_I know_

**So I was thinking to skip dinner, well in the great hall anyway, and let me fix you dinner. **

_You can cook?_

**Oh you will be surprised. **

_Funny. I bet you will get house elves to do the work for you._

**Ah, you know me so well. **

_Of course I do_

**Really, then if you know so much, what am I thinking right now?**

_Hmm, you're probably thinking that you must look good, seating there with that smirk in your face._

**I know I look good, but that's not what I'm thinking about.**

_Then? Please enlighten me._

**I'm thinking that you are the most beautiful girl I've ever met.**

Hermione kept on staring at the note. She felt a blush coming so she leaned down so her hair would fall as a curtain between her and Draco, so he couldn't see her. She was about to write something, well truthfully, she was trying to come up with something when suddenly Draco grabbed the note from her.

**Especially when you blush**

That only made Hermione blush harder. Draco took her hand again and intertwined his fingers with hers. Hermione smiled quickly, and Draco watched her from the corner of his eye. He grinned briefly at her before he continued to stare at the book they were now supposed to be reading from.

0000

Pansy sat in her bed, thinking about what the two Gryffindors had told her. She didn't know if to believe them or not. When the girls had told her what they thought, pansy had first laughed in their face, telling them that that was the silliest thing she had heard in her whole entire life.

She had told them that there was just no way that Draco, the Draco Malfoy, would fall as low as to date a mudblood. At least not the Draco she knew. The Draco she knew was all about the glamour, looks, money, _purebloods. _There was just no way he could be with Hermione Granger. She was everything Draco despised, a Gryffindor, a mudblood, a member of the damned golden trio.

It was just plain impossible.

But now that pansy mulled over it, she wasn't so sure that her quick dismissal of Lavender and Parvati's guesses was the best thing.

Lately she had noticed a certain change in Draco's behavior. Pansy had known since her first year, hell, since she had met Draco, which was literally since birth, that he liked to study. She knew that he was clever, and he actually took pride in doing well in his schoolwork.

But now that she thought about it, Draco had only began to visit the library since the dance, and he had great grades since before. So why did he start going then? Pansy didn't know what had happened at that dance, but she had noticed that Draco had changed since then. He was unusually quiet, not as quick to respond with one of his cruel and sarcastic remarks. He had even stopped insulting people.

She hadn't understood the change in him, but she had though it was for the better. But that was until he started to be distant even with her. Sure, Draco had pushed Pansy away numerous times, but Pansy had just kept trying. But lately he wouldn't even look at her. She used to take his insults and in a way managed to come up with an explanation to excuse them. She had convinced herself that he did care for her, but all the things he said to her were just for show, after all, he did only insult her like that when there were other people around.

But now he didn't even do that. He no longer touched her, spoke to her, looked at her. He all but acknowledged her, and Pansy did not like that.

So she desperately tried to come up with another conclusion to why he had acted like that. She had guessed that it had something to do with his father, and Draco's duties as the Malfoy heir, after all, this was not the first time she had seen him like that.

And yet, it somehow didn't fit. For holiday vacations, Pansy and her Family had visited the Malfoys as every other year, and she had not noticed anything wrong at all. Soon enough, Pansy came up with the conclusion that Draco had girl trouble, but she had refused to even think about that, she was determined to believe that she was the only girl in Draco's life. And she was going to make sure it came true.

00000

"You so totally did not cook this." Hermione said as she took another bit of her spaghetti,

Draco laughed. "You could at least pretend, and compliment me on how delicious it is."

"And actually contribute to the 'Make Draco's Ego Bigger' foundation. No thank you." Hermione said with a smirk.

Draco put a hurt expression on his face as he placed his hand over his heart. "That hurt!"

Hermione laughed as she threw a piece of bread at him. "Oh shut up."

"Ok, ok. So I can't cook. And I suppose the whole world knows that now. But can you just enjoy your meal and stop reminding me that I didn't cook it?"

Hermione smiled. "Fair enough. After all, you did pick the location, and it's just wonderful."

Draco smiled at Hermione as she looked around. They were sitting on a small wooden table for two. And they happened to be in the balcony where they had shared their first kiss.

Draco had placed lights on the plants around them, and despite the fact that they where outside, and the night was rather cold, Draco had placed a warming spell on the balcony, so Hermione was not cold at all. To her delight, the moon was full and bright as it could be which only made the night much more romantic. The sky was clear, and a million stars twinkled above them.

In the background she heard soft classical music, the kind you hear in expensive restaurants, but she didn't know where the music was coming from, and yet she loved it all. It was simple, yet charming.

She looked back at Draco and her smile became wider once she saw that he was staring at her.

"You look beautiful," He said, that sweet smile still in place.

Hermione blushed, but she didn't look away. She had chosen to wear a white halter top with dark jeans. So she realized that it wasn't the best thing to wear to a dinner party, but she hadn't expected for Draco to do something like this. Besides, he himself was dressed in casual clothing too, since he was wearing black jeans and dark button down shirt.

"You don't look so bad yourself." She commented.

Draco smiled as he walked towards her. Taking his hand in hers he asked her to dance. Hermione smiled and happily accepted as he pulled her to her feet. Hermione smiled wider, and then she turned to look at the table.

"What about this, shouldn't we clean it up?"

Draco took his wand from his pocket and with a simple wave everything from their dinner was gone.

"Wow," Hermione complimented.

Draco shrugged. "No need to worry about the small things. Now, will you allow me to dance with you or not?"

Hermione smiled. "Of course."

Draco returned the smile as he placed his hands on her waist and she put her arms around his neck. They swayed to the music for a while, each enjoying the moment, neither wanting to leave.

Draco lifted his head from where it rested on top of Hermione's, once Hermione felt his movement; she too looked up to meet his eyes. He was smiling.

"I'm glad we made that bet," he told her.

Hermione laughed. "Yeah me too."

Draco leaned down and brushed his lips against her softly and slowly, teasing her. Hermione smiled as she stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck as she took control of the kiss. She pressed her lips hard against his.

Draco was surprised at first, and then in his mind he smirked. She was not having his games, that much was evident. He welcomed her, pulling her tighter to him as he slid his tongue into her mouth.

He pushed her against the banister, in an attempt to get her closer to him. This wasn't enough. Draco let go of her lips to let them both breathe. He contented himself with sliding his lips from her mouth to her cheek, leaving little butterfly kisses along the way. He went from her cheeks to her nose, to her other cheek to her eyelids and to her forehead.

Hermione almost shuddered with each tiny kiss he left on her skin. But forget that, even if it was sweet, and soft, it was something that Hermione was not looking for. Just as he was leaving a kiss on the corner of her mouth, she claimed his lips again, locking her own with his. She pressed herself harder against him, as if she was trying to become one with him.

"What the fuck is this?!"

Draco jumped back from Hermione's grasp and looked over at the door. He didn't even get a chance to see exactly who it was, since it happened so fast.

Al he could see was a blur of red hair coming hi sway, and then he felt a sharp pain on the side of his face, and then another one on his nose.

He heard Hermione scream for the person to stop, but said person wasn't having that. Draco was pushed to the ground, where he hit his head, and all the lights went out.

**A/N**

**I want to thank Stephanie Z for this chapter, since she was the one who gave me the idea for the last part. So thank you. **

**Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter, thank for following my stories. **

**And now, to answer your reviews….**

**Kat.1600 – ** **I am glad you liked it. thank you so much for reviewing. I hope you liked this chapter too.**

**Stephanie Z ****– Haha, yeah I know what you mean, I sort of hoped for it to take longer for them to figure it out, but they aren't stupid you know, and I've been giving that image. Lol. I felt bad. Haha. Ok, so not really, but hey… I'm still not done. but yeah, I will keep on using that phrase, since it is true. :p . but anyways, thank you so much for the idea, I think it's a good one, what do you think, is this how you pictured it or not? haha. Sorry it is so short, but I really can't write for that long. I don't know, but I have a feeling the story or the chapter looses its charm. Hehe. And thank you about the advice, I'm sure I can use some of it, as I have already used some. All in all, thank you so much, for reading this, for giving me your point of view, for reviewing and for giving me the energy to continue writing. **


	21. People do Change

A/N

**A/N**

**Don't hate me. I know I've taken way too long to update, but life keeps getting in the way. But amazingly enough I found some time to write this chapter, so please note the sacrifice, I am after all, taking time from my studying to make you people happy. =] So I repeat, don't hate me.**

**But anyways, I want to dedicate this chapter to Stephanie Z just because the girl makes me laugh. =] The answers to your reviews are at the end of the chapter, and no Steph, I'm not mad at you. **

**So let's begin shall we. **

**Chapter 21 "People do Change"**

"Make her see sense!" Ron pleaded for what seemed like the hundredth time, and for the hundredth time, he was ignored.

Hermione sat on the floor, right in front of the fire, her mind too busy with thoughts of Draco and his well being.

Harry was already bored with Ron's rant. Not that he was too happy with the story he had just heard, but the look Ginny had given him, along with Hermione's distant gaze, he didn't push on the topic. Oh Hermione was going to explain, no way was she going to get out of that one, but Harry figured right then it was not the best time to ask many questions.

Ginny on the other hand, seemed rather amused as she saw her older brother pace back and forth, stopping every other second to stop and glare at Hermione's back, muttering something else that was either cursing Malfoy and all of his family right down to his pets, if he had any, or just to insult Hermione's intelligence for allowing to be played like a fool.

Although Ginny did have to admit that this did make her a bit sad. She knew that her brother was sort of developing feelings for her best friend, and she knew that Hermione had at least though once what it would be like to date Ron. The girls had fantasized for ours, thinking how it would be for them. They had imagined what their lives would be like if they married their school crushes, Ginny with Harry, and Hermione with Ron.

Ginny had known that Hermione never lost her head like that. Hermione had never been the type of girl to think her name and plug in the last name of the boy she liked, and yet that night Ginny had managed for Hermione to let go a bit.

But now that seemed ages ago. Ginny half smiled at how life changed so quickly, making you follow the paths you would have never expected.

"Ronald, stop it." Ginny commanded as she slid further down the sofa, half her body almost on the air, just holding up by the support of her own legs. She yawned as she reached for a book absentmindedly.

Ron turned to glare at his sister, but already tired of pacing, he took a seat in front of Harry, throwing him a glare, which Harry just took and turned away from him. Ron's scowled.

Hermione seemed oblivious to all of this. She just sat there, hugging her knees and following the day's events in her head, replaying them over and over again.

She though about her beautiful dinner with Draco, she smiled faintly and almost blushed as she remembered each of his kisses, his touch, his caress. And then she remembered how it had stopped all of a sudden.

She hadn't seen it coming, who would have? Even in her memories it was blurry. She just remembered Ron bursting through the doors, causing for Draco to jump back and away from her. She heard the yells, saw everything as if she were watching a film. She closed her eyes and sighed in an attempt to shake the thoughts from her mind.

Draco would be okay, she knew that. Right after Hermione had managed to calm Ron a bit just to get him off Draco, who had been on the ground, his eyes half opened, but his gaze totally lost.

She had yelled for Draco to stay awake, but Draco had not reacted to her calls. So she had taken her wand out, totally ignoring Ron, put Draco up in the air and took him to the infirmary, where the mediwitch had asked them thousand of questions, half of which Hermione had not bothered to answer.

After Hermione had shared with Madame Pomfrey all the information that she was willing to give, she had shooed Hermione right out of the hospital wing. Hermione had left reluctantly, with Ron at her heels. He had not said anything to Hermione on the way to the tower, which made no difference to Hermione. She would not have listened either way.

But once they had stepped into the common room, hell broke loose. Ron had exploded, demanding for Harry to punish Hermione or something of the sort. However, Ron had been surprised that Harry was taking everything so well. Harry had seemed as if what Ron was telling him had not been news to him, and Ginny's smirk had convinced him of that.

But he hadn't bothered to ask what that was about, he was too busy yelling at Hermione, but still, she paid no attention to him, which only managed to irritate him even more.

So as he kept on glancing at Hermione's back, he decided that at least right now, she would not answer any of his questions, no matter how loud he yelled. So with a heavy sigh, he ran a hand trough his thick hair, stood up and stomped up the stairs to his room.

"You should go talk to him." Ginny said to Harry as she threw the book across the coffee table.

Harry looked at her, an eyebrow arched. "And what exactly will I tell him? I myself don't know the story. Besides, it's probably better if we let him cool for a bit."

"How did he find us?" Hermione said softly, to no one in particular.

"Oh, he used the marauders map." Ginny answered in a tone that could have been used to talk about the weather.

"What?" Hermione asked, turning to face Ginny.

"How do you know?" Harry asked, as he too turned towards Ginny.

Ginny shrugged "I followed him."

"You what?" Harry asked.

"You saw when… well, did you see everything that happened?" Hermione questioned.

Ginny shrugged again before smirking at Hermione, but decided to answer Harry's question first. "I followed him. I was coming down the stairs when I heard Ron's loud voice. So I stopped and leaned against the wall as I listened, he had asked Lavender and Parvati, who were coming through the door, if they had seen Hermione. Something in Lavender's tone told me she was up to no good as she answered Ron's question. She told him, and I quote, 'That girl could be anywhere, with the people you would have never imagined. You guys are her friends, you should keep track of her, you know, it would suck for her to deceive her friends' and with that she had walked away.

"At first I didn't really understand the purpose of her speech, but Ron was not going to stay with the doubt and confusion. I saw him run up the stairs quickly, only to come back with the map in his hands as he ran for the door. So I decided to follow him. He didn't notice me, but I knew trouble was bound to come when he saw you on the map, right next to Malfoy, a bit too close. But when I saw him punch the living lights off Draco, I ran back here and told Harry."

Ginny took in Hermione's expression. "Exactly what did you do to Lavender?"

Hermione shrugged. "She saw me with Draco."

Harry seemed to be speechless, so he just looked from one girl to the other.

"Are you serious?" Ginny asked.

"Yup, except she doesn't know it was Draco."

"Explain."

"Well, my first night back, I sort of sneaked out at midnight with Draco. Lavender saw me get on Draco's broom; however, since it was so dark, she didn't get a glimpse of him."

"You sneaked out and you didn't tell me!"

"Not the point, Ginny."

"Not the point? Not the point! Are you crazy, woman? It is so the point-"

"Ginny…" Harry warned for her to keep her voice down.

Now Ginny turned on Harry. Harry looked as if he wished he hadn't spoken. Even Hermione felt pity for him.

"You do realize who we are speaking of here, right? You have been listening to this conversation since the beginning, have you not? How can you tell me to keep quiet when Hermione, _the_ Hermione Granger sneaked out with Malfoy, _the_ Slytherin ferret Draco Malfoy? How can you be so bloody calm?!" Ginny shrieked, in a sort of hushed voice. Hermione had to give her credit for that.

Harry sighed heavily and shook his head slowly. "I do not understand the female mind, and I do not attempt to. But a while ago you were going crazy defending Hermione from Ron, so why the bloody hell are you yelling about now?" Harry asked in a sort of quiet and bored voice, as if he could really care less about Ginny's answer either way.

For the first time, since Hermione had met Ginny, she saw her best friend go as red as her own hair. So perhaps it wasn't only Ron's thing.

"I am Hermione's bestfriend!"

"I'm her friend as well," Harry said back.

"Yes, but I'm her best _girl _friend. It is much easier for her to trust me with something like that, than it is to trust you!"

"I'm not asking for her to tell me about her night of passion with Malfoy!"

"Night of passion?" Hermione interrupted.

Both of her friends ignored her.

"I didn't say you did!"

"Then what are you yelling for?"

Ginny opened her mouth to answer back, but snapped it shut after a second, when she realized she truly did not have an answer.

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry, oh dearest female friend of mine, to whom I confide all my girl problems and secrets. I am terribly sorry that I did not share this juicy piece of information with you, but please do understand, I was far too busy trying to keep my relationship with my enemy hidden from the world." Hermione said in a very solemn and serious voice to Ginny. However, Ginny obviously saw through it, and seemed to not appreciate the joke.

Especially after Harry burst out laughing. Ginny turned her glare form Hermione to Harry. Harry's smile seemed to fall a bit, which made Hermione get a bit suspicious.

"What exactly is going on between the two of you?" she asked her friends.

Both Harry and Ginny looked up quickly at Hermione, and just as quickly, both looked to the ground, now both of them going red.

"Well?" Hermione pressed.

After a few seconds of silence, or rather, a few minutes, Ginny sighed as Harry looked sideways at the fireplace.

"We are getting out of topic here. The thing that is important right now is that you and Malfoy have a relationship to hide, and that is what we have to do. But I suggest you tell the world before Brown gets a chance to ruin your story." Ginny said, not meeting Hermione's eyes.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the redhead, a small smirk, which she definitely must have learnt from Draco, the king of smirks, was pulling at her lips. "There is nothing else to talk about my relationship with Draco. We will deal with what will come. Right now I've got to make sure he is well or at least recovering from the attack. But you two _will_ tell me what is going on, you heard?"

Neither of the two answered.

Hermione sighed, realizing that this was as much as she was getting tonight. So she got up from the floor, straightened her skirt and dusted it off. Both Ginny and Harry glanced at her.

"Where are you going?" Ginny asked.

"I'm going to see how Draco is doing." Hermione responded.

"But its past curfew" Harry pointed out.

Hermione glanced back at Harry, the portrait already opened before her, and smirked. "And exactly when has that stopped us before, Harry?"

And with that she left the room, leaving her two friends staring after her.

"Malfoy is affecting her way too much." Ginny muttered.

"Perhaps he is just bringing out the real Hermione." Harry answered back.

0000

Hermione stood outside the infirmary, only her head wedged in the small space between the wall and the little way she had opened the door, trying to make sure that the mediwitch was not up and about doing some last minute checks on her patients. After quickly scanning the rather large room, Hermione slowly slid the door open, leaving only enough space for her body to fit, and then, just as slowly, she closed the door behind her, trying to not make any noise.

That being done, she walked quietly and yet quickly to Pomfrey's office, the door was ajar, but there were no candle lights on, so Hermione decided that the mediwitch must not have been there. With a slow sigh, Hermione was about to go looking for Draco's bed, when she heard voices.

Or rather just one very whiny and just plain annoying voice.

"But _Drakeee_, you have to tell me how this happened. Where have you been? I barely see you anymore."

"Get over it, Parkinson. It's nothing you should be worrying about."

Hermione slid behind one of the beds, since the curtain that went around it for privacy was closed. She took a band for her hair from her pocket and tied her hair back so it would not get in the way. She peeked from behind the curtain, and looked over to where the voices were coming from.

She could see the two Slytherins at the far corner of the room, half of them in shadows due to the faint candle that shone from the nightstand next to Draco's bed.

Draco was half seating, with about three pillows supporting his back, and one more right behind his head. Pansy sat close to him. Hermione saw as Pansy reached over to try and sweep some of Draco's hair back, since it had fallen into his eyes. Draco was not exactly rude about it, but he moved his head to the side so Pansy could not reach him.

At this Pansy pouted, and crossed her arms. "What is going on, Drake?"

Draco sighed. Hermione could tell his patience was running out. "How many times do I have to tell you, Parkinson? Don't call me _Drake._"

Pansy pouted even more. "Fine. What is going on, _Draco_?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "I already told you, it does not concern you."

"See, I think you're wrong right there."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked as he tried to sit up straighter.

"I have heard rumors Drake." At the sight of his face, Pansy added the "o" at the end of his name. So it ended up sounding something like 'Drake-o'. Draco smirked.

"Does not surprise me, Parkinson. What does surprises me is that you are telling me, and that you are listening to them. You should be used to them already, and know better than to listen to them."

"Well, this one isn't exactly a rumor."

"Who did you hear it from?"

"That Brown girl."

"Brown? As in Lavender Brown? Pansy please. You should already know that that girl is the queen of gossip and rumors."

Despite Draco's cool exterior, Hermione could see the quick flash of discomfort in his eyes. It surprised her to be able to see it from this far away, and for Pansy to not have noticed it.

"I know, Draco. But she doesn't say something until she does have a story to be detailed with. And well, I'm not sure, but what she told me, sort of got me thinking. And, well, it makes sense."

"What did she tell you?"

"Well, you are never around. I don't see you in your room at night anymore. Zabini said he had no idea where you've been. Barely anyone sees you, and just when you disappear, so does that mudblood."

Draco clenched his jaw to keep from protesting to the name calling. "Where are you getting at, Parkinson?"

"Draco please don't be mad, but well, are you sneaking off with the know it all, mudblood Gryffindor?"

Draco stared at Pansy, unsure of what to say. Hermione bit her lip, awaiting his answer. "No Pansy, I am not."

"Are you sure?"

Draco glared at her. "Not that it's any of your business, Parkinson. But it has nothing to do with what you are thinking."

Pansy sighed, as she visibly relaxed. Hermione bit deeper into her lip, so hard that she could feel blood on her tongue a few seconds later. She didn't know what to make out of Draco's answers. Sure she had not expected for him to break down and confess his love for Hermione right then and there.

But maybe some part of her had hoped for him not to deny her. Maybe come up with a different explanation, or just turn the whole conversation around. But she had not hopped for his direct, no way around it, denial.

She leaned back for a second and took a deep breath before peeking again. Just as she looked, Pansy was moving forwards, her lips getting closer and closer to Draco's. Hermione's breath caught, her heart pounding so hard it was as if a hundred drums were in the room with her, half of them going to one slow beat, while the other half went to a much faster one.

But just a couple inches before Pansy could plant her mouth on his, he moved. Pansy froze, and her eyes narrowed, but she did not move at all, waiting for him to meet her eyes. Once he did she hissed in a low voice,

"Is there another girl?"

Draco stared at her for a few second. "Love, there are many other girls."

Pansy still did not move. "Do any of them mean anything to you?"

"Pansy-"

"Answer me."

"No, they did not."

"Do I mean anything to you?"

"What-?"

"Kiss me, then."

"What?"

"Kiss me, Draco. If I mean nothing to you at all. If I am to you just what those other girls were, then kiss me."

Once again, Hermione bit her lip. She felt the taste of blood fill her mouth once more.

Draco stared at Pansy. This was ridiculous. Even if Pansy was a Slytherin, and the damn girl stood her ground exactly like a Slytherin girl should, she was still just a girl. And there was no way that Draco, a _Malfoy,_ would be talked to like that.

So he slowly smirked, and in an even voice said a simple, "Sod of, Parkinson."

Pansy's eyes opened wide, and right there she realized that even as the Slytherin Princess, she had no influence over the Slytherin prince himself.

And yet, her Slytherin pride would not let her go like that. People could label her as just another slut who just followed Draco Malfoy around. But in truth, she had cared for him. And this was unacceptable. So, very gracefully, she lifted one small hand up, and slapped Draco right across his left cheek.

And before Draco could react, Pansy was already walking toward the doors.

"What the hell!" Draco yelled from the bed.

Pansy did not stop until she was at the door. She looked back at Draco. "No one, Malfoy, I repeat, _no one_, talks to a Parkinson like that. And you Draco Malfoy, will pay for it."

And with that, little obsessed Pansy Parkinson walked out of the room, her mind now working differently.

Hermione stood where she was for a while longer, deliberating if she should let Draco know she had listened to everything. She could hear Draco muttering away from his bed, and yet she could not make out a single sentence that he was speaking.

So with a sigh, she walked out into full view. "Well," she started. "You do have a way with the ladies."

Draco's head whipped in her direction, his eyes wide. "Hermione," he whispered. "How long have you been standing there?"

Hermione gave him half a smile. "Quite a while, actually."

**To be continued. **

**Haha, I'm evil, I know. But this chapter had been longer than any other one I've written. And you have no idea how much I suffered while I wrote it. I'm afraid my brain was numb during this whole writing process. So I suppose there is such a thing as imagination overdrive. **

**So please forgive me if it did not meet your expectations. But anyways, time to answer your reviews. =] **

**Hermone-Loves-Ron16311**** – **The bet, as it says in chapter two, was for Hermione to prove that the fact that Draco is, basically, unbelievably gorgeous, does not affect in any way at all how she sees him, and he had to prove that if he wished, he could affect her in any way he wanted. I'm glad you liked it, and thank you so much for reviewing.

**jessirose85 – **I'm really glad you liked it. =] thanks for the review, and of course Draco will be alright. ;p

**LavenderSpice – **Thank you so much. It's the first time someone mention it like you did. Hmm, I suppose I was aiming for funny/cute moments. Lol. Thank you so much for the review. And I do hope you continue to like it. =]

**Stephanie Z **– I've decided to answer to all of your reviews in one go, I hope you don't mind. Lol. You, my dear friend, just manage to always make me laugh. I do have a boyfriend, and true, it is not always like I have been putting it in my fic. But I figured, it's already fiction, so might as well make this people happy huh. Haha. And don't worry, I am not mad at you at all. I am really sorry for updating so late, but please forgive me. I try to write in whatever free time I have, so please give me a break. And yeah, I do know I need some editing in my stories, but I'm just in such a hurry for me to finish the chapter and get it online as soon as possible for you guys to enjoy, that I tend to get too excited, and therefore, end up with a lot of mistakes. Sorry about that. And yes, you are right, I also pictured the fight differently, but I decided to give Ron a break and give him a chance to actually look as a man. =] see how nice I am. Haha. And I could not have Draco lock the door, that would have ruined my story line. =] thank you so much for reviewing, and please don't hate me for taking so long.

**..bite**- well first of all, I like your pen name, just wonderful =] and yes, you guessed! Lol.

**Kat.1600 – **thank you =]

**TheHouseOfBlack – **aww thank you! You have no idea how much that means to me. Hope you still continue to read this fic. Thanks for the review. =]

**And just in general, thank you guys for the support. Thanks for keeping up with me, and my lack of updates. But may I mention that around chapter 15 I announced that after that chapter there would only be about three to four chapters left. Well people, I'm sure you know how to count, and well I'm sure you noticed that this is the 6****th**** chapter after that announcement. You should know that I changed my storyline a bit, just to make this fic longer, and to keep you all happy. So don't hate too much on me ok. =] lol. Anyways. I love you all! Hope you continue to read this fic. And don't forget to review. **

**Kisses!**

**So, review?**

**Yours,**

**leilygurl**


	22. He Said, She Said

**A/N**

**So if you guys have checked my profile, you would see that I actually have set days for when I will update. So if you have seen it, I'm sure you read that I would update this story every Saturday. Yes, I actually meant to update last night, but as luck would have it, I was in a car crash. Don't worry, I'm ok, but I had to spend the whole day at the hospital for check ups and of course, to be with my friend who ended up much more hurt than I. And then, FanFiction was being stupid, not allowing me to open my account. So annoying. But still, here I am, updating while I should actually be doing my homework. But that can wait. XD **

**But anyways, again, this chapter goes dedicated to Stephanie Z. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I actually did feel guilty because I read your review on Saturday. Sorry. Still, I hope that corner wasn't too cold. And I still hope you had a great time. So here goes, my gift to you. Hope you like it. =]**

**Chapter 22 "He Said, She Said"**

"Wait a second, you're telling me that you already knew they were dating?" Harry asked Ginny.

Ginny shrugged, and then she calmly took a drink from her cup, making Harry more impatient by the second. She was so enjoying this.

"I did." She answered nonchalantly.

"But how?" Harry asked.

Ginny shrugged again. "She told me."

Harry had had enough. He could tell Ginny was answering him with such short sentences to just annoy him. And she was sure as hell accomplishing it.

They were sitting on the front steps of the castle. It was past curfew, of course. But since Hermione herself had dismissed that fact with just a smirk and a wave of her hand, Harry and Ginny had decided to go for a walk.

So while they walked around the castle quite aimlessly, they came to the kitchens, deciding to grab a midnight snack, they made their way to the front of the castle, not really caring who it was that saw them.

They had a lot to talk about, that was for sure, but it was better for them to keep a safe topic right now. And said topic was none other than that of Hermione dating Malfoy. But it was proving to not being such a safe topic after all.

Harry sighed, and Ginny could tell she was getting on his nerves. So she smiled and decided to give him a break.

"Remember when she and I fought at dinner?'

Harry nodded. "When you stomped out of the place all angry?"

Ginny half smiled. "Yes."

"And Hermione went after you?"

"She did?"

"Well, actually she said she would go to the library first, and then that she would talk to you."

"The library." Ginny snorted, to Harry's surprise.

"Why do you say it like that?"

"Because," she shrugged. "I don't think she went to the library."

"Malfoy." Harry stated.

Ginny nodded.

Harry sighed. "Oh well, not the point. What happened that day?"

Ginny shrugged again. "Well she came to talk to me. All of this was of course, after she saw Malfoy, because she didn't come to speak to me right after I left. But anyways, she came into my room and told me that she had to tell me a secret. Of course I was dying to know what it was that's he was hiding from me, but I made her suffer a bit."

"Made her suffer a bit?" Harry asked with his eyebrow arched.

Ginny grinned quite deviously. "I made her beg me a bit so I would listen."

"You are true witch, Ginny. You know that?" Harry asked.

Ginny laughed. "Why of course."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Continue,"

"So after she was speaking to me all sweet and everything, she told me that she had a boyfriend. So I asked her who it was, and she told me to have an open mind. Now right about that moment I was thinking that it was some bad kid from Ravenclaw or something. Or perhaps a boy from that camp she went to. There were a whole bunch of possibilities going through my head, that at first I didn't hear when she told me it was Draco Malfoy. But after my brain processed that she had spoken, and that she had said his name, I of course thought it was a joke. But her face told me other wise. So I believed her."

"And why didn't you tell me or Ron?"

"If Hermione didn't tell you, it was for a reason. You saw how Ron got."

"Yeah, but I do react differently than Ron. You could have trusted me."

To his surprise, Ginny laughed. "You do not. Not when it comes to defending Hermione. Its like if you two feel like it's your duty to protect Hermione when truly; she's the one keeping you two out of trouble."

"Well I do see her like my sister." Harry said somewhat quietly.

"I know you do, Harry. But you also have to let her out of your grip a bit. She is quite smart, and very rational. Granted, love does make you do stupid stuff, but I'm sure she'll work it out. Let her live a little."

"You think love makes you stupid?" Harry asked her with a teasing smile.

Ginny shrugged. "Naw, just makes you do stupid stuff."

"Really, like what?"

Ginny leaned slowly into him, that little smile still on her lips. "Like kissing your secret boyfriend at midnight in full view where anyone can see, including your very over protective brother," she whispered, now her lips an inch from his.

Harry had a fake serious expression on his face as he sighed. "That does like something stupid to do." He replied as he vanished the space left between their lips, kissing her sweetly.

'Stupid or not, works out great for me.' Ginny thought as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

0000

"How much did you listen to?" Draco asked.

Hermione could see he was trying to keep the strain from his voice. So she shrugged. "Not much." She answered.

Draco tried to sit up straighter. "Exactly how much?" he insisted.

Hermione arched an eyebrow as she sat on the bed next to his. "Worried about something, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco smirked. "Just on your interpretation of my words."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"Was there something I could have misunderstood?"

"I don't know, was there something you thought wrong of?"

Hermione smirked. "I don't think I thought much of anything."

It was Draco's turn to look confused. "Explain." He ordered.

Hermione shrugged.

They stared at each other for a while longer. Draco could tell this was all the information he was getting from her. So he decided to change the topic.

"How did I get here?"

"I brought you."

"Exactly what happened?"

"How much do you remember?" Hermione asked.

He winced. "I remember fighting with Weasley."

"Then you don't remember much,"

Something in her tone made him curious. "What do you mean?"

She half smiled. "You didn't have much time to fight back."

"You mean I'm in this hospital bed because of the Weasel and he managed to escape unscratched?"

"Yeah, pretty much"

Now Draco was furious. He was already jumping out of his bed.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"To find that Weasel and see if he is good at fighting without the surprise element on his side."

Hermione laughed quietly. "You have seen way too many films."

Draco stopped to look at her. "What the hell are films?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Never mind. You are in no condition to go looking for Ron right now. And what makes you think that I'm going to let you go, anyways?"

Draco smirked. "And what makes you so sure, love, that you will be strong enough to hold me back?"

Hermione smirked back. "There are other ways to hold a person back than with strength." She answered.

And with blinding speed, Draco had her arm in his grasp, and before she knew it, he was taking her wand from her cuff were she always kept it. Hermione was too shocked to do anything until he was at least two feet away from her.

He leaned back a bit; an arm wrapped lazily around his stomach, and stared at her with a somewhat arrogant smirk on his face. He was twirling her wand in his right hand.

"Do you still hold that argument?" Draco asked.

Hermione smirked back a smirk that any Slytherin would have been proud of. "I wasn't referring to magic either."

Draco's smirk fell a bit as he processed what she meant. He groaned as he took an involuntary step towards her. Hermione raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"You have to stop doing that." Draco said as he took that one step back.

"Doing what?"

"Distracting me like that!" he whined.

Hermione laughed as she stood up and took a tiny step in his direction. "Oh goodness me, Merlin forbid me of ever distracting the great Draco Malfoy." She said with a teasing smile about her lips.

Draco glared at her. "This is so not fair. It's my job to seduce you, not the other way around."

Hermione laughed lightly as she took another step towards him. Now she stood close enough to touch, but she wasn't touching him. It was all a teasing game. And Draco understood that well. But he was not going to fall for that. So he stood his ground and smirked at her. After all, he was not the type to be scared off by a girl, not even by a girl who had managed to leave him with a black eye one day.

"Hermione Granger, are you seducing me?"

Hermione smiled. "I would never dream of it."

"You know, I think I'm really starting to rub off on you."

"Oh?"

Draco shrugged. "If a year ago someone had come up to me and said that Hermione Granger was quite the seductress, I would have laughed at that person. But now, well I'm not so sure."

"And you think you are responsible for me turning out like this?" Hermione asked.

"Well, you must have picked up on some things." Draco said in an off-hand tone.

Hermione laughed again as she lifted her left hand and placed her fingertip on his right shoulder and then continued to slide it slowly down the length of his long arm, which was now resting against his side.

Draco looked down at her hand and then returned his gaze to her eyes, which never left his as she reached his hand and very slowly, she tugged at her wand. But Draco tugged back, pulling Hermione's hand along with it, therefore, jerking Hermione's body a bit forward as he took that tiny step forward, causing for her to crash into him.

Draco quickly snaked his arm tightly around her waist while she placed her right hand on his left arm, her other hand still wrapped around her wand, as was his. She looked up to find him staring down at her.

"You have still a lot to work on." Draco said quietly, staring at her lips for a second, and then looking into her eyes again.

Hermione smiled. "So teach me."

Draco smiled back as gave a final pull on her wand, causing it to escape her grasp, and placed his other arm around her as Hermione placed both her arms on his chest, slowly sliding them up to his neck.

"My pleasure." He answered just before he kissed her.

0000

Pansy walked into the room quickly, pushing the door shut behind her. She was angry, Merlin the girl was fuming! But she was mostly annoyed at herself.

That good for nothing mudblood actually stole her man.

"So, how did it go?" Lavender asked from across the room.

Pansy twirled around to find Lavender leaning casually against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, the picture of ease, and yet with class. Pansy scoffed.

"How do you think it went?" Pansy retorted as she thought of a sofa, one appeared and she gracefully sank into it.

The two girls were in the Room of Requirements, where they had agreed to meet after Pansy tried to get some information from Draco. Lavender had not believed that Pansy could get any information from Draco, considering that there was no way Draco would tell Pansy if he had actually cheated on her or not, and with whom, for that matter.

"Well, judging from your face it could not have gone too well." Lavender answered.

Pansy glared at her.

"What did he tell you?" Lavender asked.

"She was in the room." Pansy answered.

"What?"

"The mudblood. She was in the room."

"That's what he told you?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "No, I mean I know Granger was in the room while I was talking to him."

"Did you see her?" Lavender asked as she pushed herself from the wall and walking over to Pansy, she pictured a beanbag chair, and one appeared right in front of her. She picked it up, took it closer to the sofa, dropped it, and lowered herself into it.

"Yes."

"You did?!"

Pansy nodded. "She is not as quiet as she thinks she is."

"Tell me everything!"

"Well when I got to the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey was still there. So I decided to wait for her to leave so that she wouldn't kick me out at curfew. So after she left I went in to find Draco sleeping. I woke him up, and just started asking questions about how he was and what had happened."

"Get to the point, Parkinson." Parvati yawned as she walked through the door.

Pansy glared at her. "She told me to tell her everything." She muttered as she pointed to Lavender.

Parvati rolled her eyes as she slid down the wall until she was seating against it. "Whatever." She said.

Pansy glared at her once more before resuming her story. "Anyways, so he asked me how it was that I had heard that he was there. I told him that Pomfrey had come to look for Snape to let him know Draco was there, and that I had heard. You know the rest. But then when I asked him how it had happened, he didn't answer me right away. He sort of ignored me for a bit before telling me he got in a fight with some Hufflepuff."

"A total lie," Lavender said.

Pansy nodded in agreement. "Yes, and then a bit later I heard the door open. At this moment Draco was covering his ears and telling me to shut up and leave him alone, so I knew he hadn't heard. So I kept on insisting him to tell me where he had been and all that stuff. At first I wasn't sure who it was, and to tell you the truth I was a bit worried that it was Pomfrey. But there weren't any other students in the room, and Draco was supposed to sleep through the night."

"So how did you know it was Granger?" Parvati asked.

"I saw her when I was leaving."

"Are you positive it was her?" Lavender asked.

"Well it was kind of dark. But there is no other person in school who has that same bushy hair as that mudblood." Pansy shuddered.

"So that's it then, we know that Draco is dating Hermione." Parvati said from her seat.

"Yes!" Lavender answered.

Pansy only nodded. It was still hard for her to process all of that. "Alright then, I told you what you wanted to know; now I'll be off to bed."

"Wait!" Lavender exclaimed. "We have to figure out how we will tell the world.

Pansy turned to look at her. "What has got you so eager to let the world know?"

Lavender shrugged. "I don't like Granger."

"And that's it."

Lavender shrugged again. "Yes. That is why this works out perfect for both of us. You can get back at Malfoy, and I get to make Granger suffer."

"What have you got against the mudblood?"

"Oh, just a few things she owes me. Don't worry about it."

"Whatever. We will deal with how we will tell the world later, alright. I'm a bit tired tonight. So, goodnight." Pansy said, and with that, she was out of the room.

On her way down to the dungeons, Pansy though of everything she had spoken with Draco. She thought about when she had asked for him to kiss her. She smiled faintly, with some remorse and self mocking as she thought that he would have actually kissed her. But at that time, something deep inside her had told her otherwise.

It wasn't a full surprise when Draco had not kissed her. But that just proved that he truly did care for the Granger girl. That made Pansy even sadder.

So she thought once again about what she wanted to do with the information she now had. Of course she wanted to get back at Draco, there was no doubt about that. And she did want to make Hermione learn the lesson of why she should not have messed with her boyfriend.

But Pansy had to think carefully of what she wanted to do, because with Lavender's plan, there was the huge possibility that the people from Slytherin would stop bothering Malfoy enough to realize that Pansy had been left for a mudblood.

That meant that her reputation could get dirty along the way. So surely Lavender's way was not the way to go at all.

Now Pansy had to figure out the way to bring Draco and the mudblood down, without putting her name at risk.

**A/N**

**I hope you guys liked it. So I gave you three points of views, which did make the chapter longer. So tell me what you thought. **

**And now to answer your reviews:**

**Stephanie Z****- **yes person, I actually took your advice. But as luck would have it, Sundays are actually my busiest days. Imagine that. but anywhoo. I know, aren't I a great writer! I even amaze myself. XD but not the point. So I hope this chapter explained a bit why Pansy asked for Draco to kiss her. if it did not, don't worry, it will be explained in the following chapter. I think. But other than that. Happy Birthday!! Well, late birthday. Sorry about that, but my best wishes to you. =] And yes, you do make me laugh. Just because of your random comments I suppose. :p thanks for reviewing!

**Kat.1600**** – **thank you!

**Jessirose85**** – **I'm glad you like it and that you won't stop reading it. Means a lot to me! Seriously. Thank you so much for reviewing!

**Darklady**** – **I'm glad you think that! thanks for the review and for just reading this chapter.

**Taxibby**** – **ha. Brilliant work. That phrase made my week. Than you so much for the review, and yes, I too plan on making this fic really long because I don't want it to end either. So I'm planning on the following events that will appear here. I'm really glad you liked it.

**La la la la la laaa lala. ****Hmm, not much to say. Except I am so glad you guys have not abandoned me. =] Oh tears. Lol. Thank you so much for the reviews. Believe it or not, they make me feel loved. Haha. Not that I feel unloved at any other time, but it's just that, oh alright I'll shut up. **

**[Forgive me, but I had wayyyyyyyyy to much sugar today. Lol. And also I'm high, high on love!!!! Lol. Ok, I'll seriously shut up now. ]**

**So, **

**Review?**

**Yours,**

**leilygurl**


	23. Quick Thoughts

**A/N**

**Long time to update, I know. But I've been sick, like really sick. Want to know how much? I've been the so-sick-you-cant-even-get-out-of-bed-and-cant-do-anything-at-all-because-your-mother-wont-let-you-even-turn-on-the-television-or-the-laptop-but-you-don't-really-care-because-you-don't-have-the-energy-to-even-keep-your-eyes-open-which-brings-you-to-trying-to-keep-your-boyfriend-from-seeing-you-even-if-you-miss-him-like-hell-but-you-will-just-not-allow-for-anyone-to-come-near-you kind of sick. Yeah, sucks. But I'm a little better now. And my parents aren't home, which allows me to sneak over to my desk and write or rather type this chapter for you. Gosh the floor is cold. **

**So I've been asked to write a little summary of what has been going on. So let's do that first okay. So Hermione and Draco ran into each other on the balcony during the Christmas dance, each one wrapped in their own thoughts and ended up kissing due to a bet that Draco came up with which stated that he could so totally affect Hermione if he wanted to, so after that they each cant stop thinking about the other and then they go to this wizard camp where they spend some time trying to forget each other but at the same time trying to make the other jealous. Soon enough they accept their feelings for each other but agree to keep it secret, and on their first night back to Hogwarts, Draco gives Hermione a midnight visit, which Lavender sees, but only manages to catch a glimpse of a guy, but she cat figure out which guy it is. So she goes playing the Witch Spy and with the help of Pansy she figures out that Hermione is seeing Draco, and since she is the queen of gossip she feels like its her duty to let the world know of what is going on. But so far, Pansy is trying to figure out what she wants to due while Hermione's friends try to accept her relationship with Malfoy. With me so far? Yes? Let's continue then ;)**

**Chapter 23 "Quick Thoughts"**

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do." Hermione said again turning to him with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"No you don't. You love me." He answered her as he challenged her with his own little smirk."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You can't know that."

He laughed as if she had said the funniest joke ever as he took a step towards, causing her to take one back. She glared at him. "Wanna bet?" he asked.

Hermione glared again. "Okay, so I don't hate you."

"See!" he announced triumphantly.

Hermione tried hard not to smile. "But you're not my favorite person right now."

"Honey, I'm always your favorite person."

"You can't know that either."

"But I do. It's true and you know it."

Hermione sighed as she rubbed her temples, her eyes closed. "You are such a brat." She muttered.

She could feel Draco moving in towards her. She felt her own heart accelerate.

"And you love brat." He whispered against her ear.

Hermione pushed him back and glared at him. "You are impossible!"

"And you are beautiful." He shot back.

"And you- wait, what?"

Draco laughed. "You are beautiful."

"You can't do that."

"Can't do what?"

"We are arguing here, for Merlin's sake, you can't call me beautiful when I insult you!"

"No, love. You are arguing. I'm merely listening to you. And I have not been insulted either. I've been called that and worse."

Hermione wrinkled her nose. It was so hard to stay mad at him. "I don't want to be mad at you." Hermione muttered, her voice an echo of her thoughts.

"So why are you?"

"You got me kicked out of class!"

"I got _us_ kicked out of class; I am out here as well after all. But in my opinion, this is your entire fault." He said in a matter of fact voice.

"My fault!" Hermione screeched.

"Yes." He responded calmly, amused by her reaction.

"How can this be my fault?! It had been you who had pointed at my desk with your wand, it had been your note the professor read. Now McGonagall hates me."

"Oh Hermione, I doubt that old witch hates you. You are her favorite student after all." he said shrugging.

Hermione stared at him impatiently. This was his entire fault; there was no way around it. Even if she had liked the little note he had scribbled magically into her desk. They had been in transfigurations, a class which Hermione truly loved, especially because she thought that the professor taught quite well. But in that class, Hermione did not seat with Draco, which was not unusual to them either way, but Draco had become terribly bored and in need of some of her attention, so he had decided to cast a tiny little spell on her desk so that he could "write" on his own desk and whatever it was that he wrote there, it would appear on Hermione's.

Draco had not seen this as harm, although her friends and several other Gryffindors had thought it to be after they had seen the faint green light that glowed directly from his wand into Hermione's desk. The professor had just looked at him disapprovingly and had asked him to be careful with that wand of his so that no one would come out hurt. Draco had just masked his face with an innocent expression, waited for about five minutes before he finally wrote to Hermione.

She had looked startled for a bit, but after she had figured out what was going on, she read the note more carefully. The note only read sweet nothings, which Hermione still found rather cute. But after several minutes of sending notes back and forth, Hermione had asked Draco what would happen if they got caught, and everyone found out that Draco Malfoy was sending Hermione Granger notes which said that she was the most beautiful girl ever, inside and out and things like that. Draco had wrote back, in an attempt to be funny, _I would pretend I was only playing you, after all, you're nothing but a filthy mudblood._'

However, Hermione had not gotten the chance to read the note, for the golden letter caught McGonagall's attention, so walking quickly and snatching the notebook that Hermione had tried to use to hide all evidence. The letters had started to erase, leaving only the last part of that sentence. McGonagall had looked angrily at Draco before dismissing him from her class, saying that such behavior and language was not allowed in her class. Hermione had looked up at the professor rather confused, thinking that what McGonagall had read would have been another declaration of love from Draco.

But the professor had looked at her, and then released the words that had never been directed at Hermione. She had kicked Hermione out of her classroom as well, saying that such games were childish, foolish and rather disrespectful to be having in a class. So Hermione had just gathered her things, blushed bright red, and without making eye contact with anyone, she had walked out of that classroom with her eyes glued to the ground, her head hanging low.

Outside, she walked into Draco. He had asked if they had kicked her out as well, and that's when all the yelling began. Now Draco was trying to keep her happy. But she was making it rather difficult.

"You don't understand, Draco. I have never been kicked out of a class before."

Draco shrugged again. "There is a first time for everything, right?"

Hermione glared at him again.

Draco laughed quietly as he put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him. She tried hard not to move, either to move from his grasp, or to walk into it. Draco's smile widened.

"Come on Hermione. I'm terribly sorry, I told you that already. I will not try to make any contact with you during any other class, alright?" he said looking deeply into her eyes.

Hermione stared into his grey eyes for quite a long time, loosing herself in the warmth she had never imagined she could find there. Before she knew it she was smiling. He smiled back at her.

"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" he teased her as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against the curve of his body. This time Hermione loosened a bit and wrapped her own arms around him.

"What did you write on the desk, anyway? Why did McGonagall get mad?" She asked him.

Draco stared at her for a while, suddenly thinking that perhaps she wouldn't find his comment so amusing. So instead he shrugged. "I put a spell on the writing. If anyone else but you and I read it, they would only see our usual arguments and fights."

"No wonder," Hermione answered.

Draco smiled at her and thanked Merlin for all the years he had practiced quite well the art of lying.

"So now that we have about an hour and a half of free time, what would you like to do?" Draco asked as he began to walk down the hall.

Hermione shrugged. "I'm hungry. Lets go to the kitchens."

Draco laughed. "That's what you get for missing breakfast."

"Yeah, well. I was kind of busy trying to talk to Ron."

"Oh? What happened?"

"He tried to ask me why you, I mean, why I had chosen you."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I tried to explain that I suppose that we don't really choose who we want to be with. Because to tell you the truth, I would have never seen this coming."

"And what did he answer to that?"

"A very nasty word that I will not bother to repeat."

Draco laughed. "Oh come on Hermione."

"Okay, just remember that it was you who made me speak with such a foul language."

"I'll take all the blame." Draco said solemnly before he grinned at her.

Hermione smiled. "Bullshit."

"That's the word?" Draco asked.

Hermione nodded. "Yes."

"I'm surprised."

"How so?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know, I think I was expecting some other response. Not such a mild one."

"Yeah, but I don't know. I was a bit worried about him. He didn't throw his usual rant. He just looked at me dully and said, and I quote, 'Hope you know what you're doing' before he turned around and left."

Draco thought about that for a bit. "He really does like you, doesn't he?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked as she walked inside the kitchens while Draco held the door open for her.

"You really haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

"That the bloke is basically in love with you!"

"Oh, that." Hermione said looking down, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Yeah, that."

Hermione shrugged. "Well, yes, I did notice he was a bit affectionate. But I can't say that I didn't encourage it."

"You mean you like him as well?" Draco asked.

Hermione looked up rather quickly that Draco had to worry a bit about her neck. But she looked at him with an expression that he couldn't quite read. However, he didn't know that he had his very own unreadable expression on his own face. Hermione frowned.

"Liked him."

"What?"

"You asked if I like him as well. I answered that I _liked _him. As in the past."

"Really." Draco said, his tone not quite reflecting a question.

"Yeah," Hermione answered as she turned to the bowl of fruit that was on the counter. She picked up and orange and twirled it between her hands for a bit.

"But not anymore." Again, not a question.

Hermione turned to look at him. "Things change, do they not?"

Draco stared at her a bit longer. "Of course," was his simple reply.

Hermione sighed. They continued to stare a each other, each still trying the read the other's expression, but neither quite succeeding. Draco got tired of it.

"What are you thinking?"

Hermione shrugged. "Why did you say that the class incident was my fault?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Because, if you weren't in my mind all the time, I wouldn't have the need to aim my wand at your desk so that I could have some communication with you."

"That's why it's my fault?"

"Yes." He answered simply.

Hermione looked at him thoughtfully before she grinned. Draco returned the smile as he walked to her and took her in his arms.

"Well then, I can live with that." Hermione said as she stood on her tiptoes and planted her mouth on his.

Draco smiled against her lips before he pulled his head back a bit to look her in the eyes. "I was hoping you would." He answered before he took control of the kiss.

0000

Ron Weasley was fuming.

Okay, so perhaps he could deal with the fact that the girl he wanted for himself, wanted another guy. He could deal with the fact that his friends agreed so freely with said girl in her relationship decisions. And he could probably deal with the fact that his little sister wanted to date his bestfriend. He wasn't blind, of course.

But he couldn't deal with the fact that he was seeing the girl he loved, not only in a romantic kind of way, mind you, change because of a Slytherin. He couldn't have that. If she changed, well he didn't know what would happen, but he couldn't allow with her turning evil.

He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

Class had been dismissed quite a while back. Harry has ran off saying that he had something to do. Ron had planned to go looking for Hermione to explain to her that getting kicked out of class was truly not a good thing, not even if it had been the fault of her boyfriend, if one could call it that.

But after a bit of walking around, he chose not to look for her nay longer, guessing that she would probably be with _him_, and Ron decided that it wasn't worth it in case he caught them, well, doing something- forget it, he didn't want to think about it.

Instead he decided to take a walk outside. The weather had changed a bit, the sun was finally out. It was still a bit cold, but Ron didn't mind. However, class would start in about half an hour and he still needed to get some books from his room.

So he made his way up to the entrance of the castle, and just when he was walking inside, he bumped into someone.

"Sorry," he murmured as he reached to steady whichever girl it was now falling back.

"Don't touch me." She hissed at him, slapping his hand away.

Ron focused on the girl as he recognized her voice. "Parkinson." He muttered.

"Look where you're going." She said as she straightened her skirt.

"Well, you crashed into me. So follow your own advice." Ron said as he began to go around her.

Pansy smirked at him. "Wow, I always thought it was Granger the one who ruled the comebacks in your golden trio."

Ron stopped and looked back at her. "Nope, we are all pretty well rounded." He said before turning back.

Pansy suddenly thought of something. "Wait," she called back.

Ron turned back to her once again, curious about her tone. "Yes?" he asked her.

"Can I speak to you for a second?"

"Only one second?"

"Funny."

"I try."

"Obviously not hard enough."

"You're wasting your second."

"Well then stop interrupting me."

"So get to the point."

"I'm trying to."

"Well start."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You are truly annoying, you know that?"

"So I've been told. Goodbye."

"Stop!" Pansy said before he could turn away from her again.

Ron arched an eyebrow.

Pansy sighed. "Um, Do you know who your friend is dating?"

Ron stared at her. "Which friend?"

"The mudblood."

Ron's stare became a cold glare. "You wont do much talking if you continue to insult my friends." He said in a low voice.

Pansy rolled her eyes again.

"Just answer the question."

"Why would you care?"

"I was just wondering."

"So ask her."

"She wouldn't answer me."

"And what makes you think I would?" Ron said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"So you do know."

Ron looked at her thoughtfully. "What is it to you?"

"I have heard some rumors."

"And?"

"I heard its Draco."

"Did you believe that?"

"I'm not sure."

"So ask Malfoy."

"I did." She said quietly.

"Then?"

"He didn't quite answer me."

"You do know." Ron stated.

"So do you." Pansy countered.

Ron shrugged. "You know. I know. We all know. Who cares?"

"I do."

"In love with Malfoy?"

"You need to help me separate them." Pansy said, choosing to ignore his question, but answering it nonetheless.

"I won't do that." Ron said quietly.

"Why not?"

Ron shrugged again. "Because even if I don't like the guy, Hermione does. She is happy with him, and I can't take that from her, I will not do it."

"But you love her."

"I do, but that's not the point. Or perhaps it is. Part of loving someone is wanting the best for them, wishing them happiness. So maybe I don't think Malfoy is the best thing for her, and if it turns out he isn't, she needs to realize that for herself. But right now she's happy."

Pansy stared at Ron, she didn't know what to say. Ron smiled lightly at her, and Pansy found herself confused about that smile, since it held nothing against her.

"So if you excuse me, I have to go."

"I'm sorry." Pansy said quickly.

"For what?" Ron asked.

"For trying to use you, I suppose. I underestimated you. And I don't know, I don't agree with their relationship either…"

"You do love Malfoy." Ron said again.

"I…"

"So let him live. If he was meant to be yours, he'll come back to you." Ron said before he turned from her one last time and continued to make his way.

Pansy sighed as she stared after him. He was right, and she knew it. No matter their differences, they had spoken from one broken heart to another. She would have never thought for there to be words like those inside Ronald Weasley, but he was a person after all, she had to admit that.

She sighed again as she turned to go to her own room, wanting to kick herself for her quick thoughts. So yeah, for a second there she had thought that she could work side by side with Ron, but now… she just felt rather stupid.

She knew he spoke the truth. There was a reason why Draco wasn't with her. And she needed to take notice of that.

She needed to let him live, and she needed to start living.

**A/N**

**I'm tired. :( I didn't quite like this chapter, and it was a total filler, but it's something to read, is it not?**

**So to answer your reviews…**

**TheHouseOfBlack****- **I haven't really decided how everyone will find out about Draco's and Hermione's relationship, but I'll get there. I'm glad you liked it, and thanks for reviewing. =]

**Caramel Wafer** – I'm really glad you like the story, and sorry about this chapter, it's not the best one, but I still hope you like it. Thank you for reading it and for reviewing. I hope you continue to read it. =]

**Stephanie Z **– Yes, high on love. I love my boyfriend. =] haha. And yeah, I was in a car crash. My friend is alright, but he has a broken leg and a few broken fingers. Me? I managed to walk away with just a sprained ankle and a few small cuts on one of my hands. It sort of hurts to type. And yet here I am. I know it would suck for the story to be left unwritten because I died. So I promise you that if that ever happens, I will come back- no not to haunt you- but to finish the story alright? Haha. And again, I'm still not sure how I will get the secret revealed; I'm sort of trying to figure that out myself. Thank you for reviewing =] and you cant eat my soul, or I will come back to haunt you.

**Hermone-Loves-Ron16311** – so I hope you remember what the story is about now that I gave you the little summary at the beginning of the chapter. =] and yeah, I don't want the bad guys to win either, so I will plan a happily ever after thing alright. XD I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and I hope you liked this one too.

**Mouse – **totally glad you like it so much. =]

**So there you go. I'm sick, so I'm going back to bed. I'll see you next Saturday. Just overlook the week I missed alright? If I'm feeling better, I'll update Wednesday and then Saturday as well to make up for it. But no promises. **

**AND I ALREADY SAW THW TWILIGHT MOVIE! Yup, I liked it, but I was a bit mad about the things they changed. But I still loved it. And was it my imagination, or did Stephenie Meyer come out in the movie? Anyhoo, **

**Review?**

**Yours, **

**leilygurl**


	24. Blessings

**A/N**

**This chapter goes dedicated to ****Edwardslover09. ****Thanks for the awesome reviews!! =]**

**Little note: italics for Hermione, bold for Lavender. **

**I'm tired :(**

**Chapter 24 "Blessings"**

Lavender did not like that one single bit. Blast Hermione Granger and her charming imperfections.

Lavender sat in her desk, watching as Hermione answered each and every question the professor asked her. Okay, so Lavender truly had no reason to be jealous of Hermione Granger.

If you compared the two girls, which was something that Lavender found herself doing every time her eyes happened to fall upon the so called brightest witch of the century, there really wasn't any competition.

So as bored as Lavender was, she started to make a similarities and differences list in an attempt to make herself feel better. For what? She didn't know.

Hermione Granger vs. Lavender Brown 

_Book smart. _**Life smart. **

_Somewhat pretty. _**Gorgeous.**

_Quiet. _**Outgoing.**

_Friendly. _**Popular. **

Lavender stared at the list for a second before ripping in out from her notebook and crumpling it into a tight, small ball. She suddenly felt annoyed. Clearly there wasn't anything for her to be jealous of. But there was just something about that girl that she truly did not like.

Lavender glared at Hermione's back just as Hermione looked slightly to her left. Lavender followed her gaze and smirked slightly as her eyes rested on non other than Draco Malfoy himself. She saw as Draco turned to look at Hermione, the corner of his mouth curling up ever so slightly, before he turned back to Zabini.

Lavender looked back at Hermione to find a small smile about her lips, her eyes focused on the professor, but her mind seemed to be some place else. Lavender wrinkled her nose in disgust just as her gaze slid back to the Slytherin side of the room again, her gaze falling on Pansy Parkinson.

She was surprised to see the expression on Pansy's face. Pansy was staring wistfully at Hermione, yet her expression held no hostility, instead it held sadness, resignation, wonder and something else Lavender could not understand. The Pansy looked at Draco, sighed quietly and with a tiny shake of her head; she gave the professor her attention.

Lavender arched an eyebrow, trying hard to figure out what had just happened, getting the feeling that what she had just seen held some importance, as insignificant as tiny glances seemed, Lavender was sure there was more to those little actions. And she wanted to figure out what it was.

However, Lavender was not the only one trying to climb out of the confusion bowl. Hermione Granger was desperately trying to figure out what was going on between her and Ron. Sure, she was happy that he seemed to be taking her relationship with Draco quite well, but that was also what had her in a worry.

Hermione did know that Ron would flip, that he might have even stopped talking to her. But she did not expect the warm smiles; the quiet yet friendly greetings and the playful teasing that came from him the past week. She knew that she should just ask him what was going on, but she was afraid that Ron's sudden supporting attitude was nothing but a charade that he kept up to either not hurt her, or to hide his own hurting.

Hermione didn't know what to make of it. She wanted her friends to be happy for her, but she also wanted her friends to be happy. Period. Hermione sighed as she looked at Ron. Ron seemed to feel her gaze on him, for he turned to her and smiled briefly once their eyes met before he turned his attention back to his reading.

Hermione sighed again. The day seemed to have lasted already about seven years, and it was only her second class. Bloody hell.

0000

"I missed you." Draco whispered as he kissed her lightly on her temples.

Hermione giggled. "We were in the same class!"

Draco smiled at her. "Yeah, but I couldn't even talk to you, let alone kiss you."

"Draco," Hermione began, her smile fading.

Draco's smile became a small frown as he saw her reaction. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged. "It's just that… I don't know how to say it… but… don't you think, I mean, it's just a thought… but, shouldn't we, well… you know…um…"

"Just say it Hermione." Draco interrupted her.

"No, forget it. Never mind."

"Hermione," Draco began.

Hermione shook her head. "Forget I said anything."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I want to know what's on your mind."

Hermione smiled at him. "You are."

"Well obviously, but that's not what I meant."

Hermione hit him playfully on the arm. "Then what did you mean?"

Draco shrugged. "If something is bothering you, then I want you to tell me."

Hermione stared at him for quite a while, trying to decide if she should tell him what was on her mind. Truthfully, she wanted to ask him when they would let the world know they were dating. After all, they couldn't keep their relationship a secret forever, could they? No, definitely not. But she didn't want to push him either. She was torn in two, not knowing what to do.

Draco could sense what she was getting at. He knew that they had to bring their relationship out into the light to let everybody know. But he felt like it was too soon. Okay, so that wasn't true. Draco didn't think he could entirely deal with the consequences of letting everyone know. It wasn't that he was scared of his father. He could care less what Lucius Malfoy could do to him. He was more afraid of what he could do to Hermione. Draco sighed and decided to make it up to her, even if it wasn't much, he knew it would please her.

"Want to know something?" Draco asked her.

Hermione looked up curiously at him, wondering about his new tone and smile. "What?" she asked.

"Well, if it's okay with you, I would like to tell one of my friends about our relationship." Draco said, looking deeply into her eyes, trying to foresee her reaction.

But Hermione could only stare at him open mouthed. It took her almost a minute to register what he had just told her. Then it took her another half minute to decide if she had imagined it. In the end, she decided to ask him. "What?"

He half smiled at her reaction. "I want to tell Blaise."

"Zabini?"

"How many Blaises do you know that are my friends?"

Hermione shrugged. "Why?"

Draco stared at her. "If you don't want me to…"

Hermione realized her mistake. "No, that's not what I meant at all. If you want to tell him, of course you can. I was just wondering…"

Draco shrugged. "Well, he's my best friend. Besides, I might need an ally once we decide let the rest of the school know about us."

"An ally?" Hermione asked, a bit worried.

Draco half smiled again. "Just in case."

"In case of what?"

"Anything. It's never a bad thing to be prepared."

"Draco…"

"Don't worry about it," Draco interrupted her. "Are you going to let me tell him or not?"

Hermione only looked at him for a second. "I already told you to tell him if you want. I have nothing against it. But how do you think he will react?"

Draco shrugged. "I've got no clue. I'll have to see once I tell him."

"Do you want me to be there?" she asked.

"Nah," Draco shook his head. "I'd rather go through this one on my own."

"Okay. Just let me know if you change your mind. When are you going to tell him?"

"I'm planning on tonight."

"Well good luck, I suppose."

Draco smiled at her. "Thank you, love."

Hermione smiled back just as he kissed her forehead. Hermione sighed as she leaned into him.

"Do you think people will accept us? After a while I mean?"

Draco rested his chin on top of her head. She felt him shrug. "Who knows? But does it really matter?"

Hermione thought of that. "I suppose it doesn't. At least not now, anyways."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I was just thinking about the future."

"Why don't we wait and see what will happen? Let's just live the present, and nothing more."

Hermione smiled. "Works out for me."

"Great. Now I should be getting to class."

"Yeah me too." Hermione said as she pulled back to smile at him.

"So, see you tonight?"

"In the room of requirements?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Hermione nodded. "See you at seven."

Draco leaned down to kiss her. "Until then."

Hermione waved to him before making her way down the hall. She thought a bit about Draco telling Blaise. She didn't know what to make of that. But that was the least of her worries. She was mostly wondering about what he could have possibly meant when he said it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. She frowned. She figured out that he must be counting on some people not being happy with their relationship, and that he was taking that very seriously.

She decided that it must have to do with his father. She knew that most of their problems, or the obstacles they would have to overcome could be courtesy of Lucius Malfoy. She sighed deeply as she thought of that. But then she decided to push it back, not wanting to think about that at the moment, thinking that if their love was strong enough, they could fight anything that got in their way. She smiled content with her new thoughts.

She kept on dreaming about a happy ever after with Draco as she walked into her class. She greeted her friends with a smile, and they smiled back at her, wondering about her dreamy eyes, but they both realized that it must have to do with Draco, so neither chose to ask her, both deciding to turn their attention to the professor as he walked in.

Hermione noticed her friends' reactions and smirked. Just then she hoped with all her heart that Zabini would accept her and Draco's relationship as easily as her friends had.

0000

It was an hour before Draco had to meet Hermione for their date. He sat in his room, waiting for Blaise to appear. He thought over and over again if this was a wise decision. He played with his hands, something he never did. Actually, he had never been this nervous before, and truth to be told, it scared the hell out of him.

He had never cared for any girl the way he cared for Hermione. He was only sixteen after all. He hadn't lived that much, but he had experience. He had dated many girls, after all. Even if most of those relationships couldn't really be called relationships. He had cared for some girls, at least two of them. But not the way he felt about Hermione.

It was hard even for him to think about it, and he could only guess how hard it would be to try to explain to Blaise why it was that he was dating Hermione Granger. Draco ran a hand through his hair and looked impatiently towards the door. About a second later, Blaise walked in.

"Whoa Draco, you scared me. What are you doing here?"

Draco smiled at Blaise. "Waiting for you."

"Jeez Draco, I know it's hard to be away from my presence for such a long time. But mate, you're sort of scaring me here."

Draco rolled his eyes as he sat on his bed. "Get over yourself Zabini. I need to talk to you."

"I'm not gay." Blaise said as he made a face.

Draco smirked at his friend. "Sure. Let's pretend like I believe you. But that's not the point right now."

Blaise laughed. "Then what is?"

"I need to tell you something."

Blaise was surprised to see Draco's serious face. So he went and sat on his bed so that he was facing Draco. "What is it?" he asked.

"Well, you know that I broke up with Pansy."

Blaise nodded. "I heard something of the sort."

"Did you hear the reason why?"

"Rumor has it you've got another girl."

"And does that rumor say which girl?"

Blaise shook his head. "It doesn't."

Blaise watched as Draco visibly relaxed. His eyes narrowed. "So it' true, then?" he asked.

Draco nodded. "It is."

"And is that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"It is." Draco answered once again.

"Well, what about it?"

"The girl."

"What about her?"

"Want to know who it is?"

Blaise stared at his friend. Draco had an unreadable expression on his face, and Blaise found himself getting worried.

"That bad?" Blaise asked.

Draco Shrugged.

"Don't tell me it's the Granger girl." Blaise laughed. But his laughter was cut short as he saw Draco pale. "Merlin's beard! It's her!?" Blaise yelled, jumping up from the bed.

Draco looked around worried, hoping that no one had heard them. "Keep your voice down, Zabini."

"Draco, are you out of your mind? Have you gone mad?"

Draco stared at his friend, waiting for him to calm down. Blaise took a deep breath and sat down once again.

"Well?" Blaise asked.

"Well what?" Draco said with an arched eyebrow.

"How? Why? When? Where?" Blaise said, as if it was the most obvious thing.

Draco half smiled as he began to tell his friend the whole story.

0000

Hermione paced the room nervously. She didn't know what was taking Draco so long, and yet something told her to wait for him, that he would come. So she had taken up walking around the room.

She wondered if his delay had anything to do with him telling Blaise. She shuddered as she felt a sudden cool breeze on her skin. She turned around to find Draco walking in through the door. Behind him was Blaise.

Hermione stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Draco walked towards her and placed his hand on the small of her back. Hermione continued to stare at Blaise.

"Granger." He greeted her with a small nod as he closed the door behind him.

Hermione swallowed, looked up at Draco and then looked at Blaise again. "Zabini." She greeted back.

Draco smirked. Hermione turned to look at him with her eyebrow raised. "Draco, what's going on?"

Draco looked down at Hermione. "He didn't quite believe me after I told him the whole story."

"That's not true." Blaise objected from his place against the door.

"Then why are you here?" Hermione asked bluntly.

Draco quietly laughed as he hugged her from behind, placing his chin on her left shoulder. Blaise stared at Draco for a second before returning his gaze to Hermione.

"Wanted to give you my blessing?" he offered.

Hermione laughed. "Right."

Draco smirked. "He just wanted to meet you."

"Is that true?" Hermione asked Blaise.

Blaise shrugged once. That was his only response. Nonetheless, Hermione smiled brightly at him.

"He approves." Draco whispered into Hermione's ear.

Hermione's grin widened. Her day long worries banished as she saw Blaise smiling back at her.

**A/N **

**I'm sleepy. But happy because I finally saw my boyfriend!! **

**But anyways, late because fanfic was being stupid. **

**Either way I hoped you liked it. So here are the replies to your reviews. **

**=]**

**Hermione-Loves-Ron16311**** – **I know huh? I was reading a few fanfics and I noticed how Pansy and Ron always seem to be the irrational, heartless and helpless obsessive people. I decided to make them a bit more real, and in an attempt to end my fic with them happy, I'm choosing to not leave then with a broken heart. Thanks for the review. I'm really glad you liked it.

**Edwardslover09** – Yeah, so forget the movie. I'll read the books again. Haha. But anyways, my idea for this fic is for them or their lifes to change completely. To make it remarkable what they cause on the other. I'm glad you liked it. =]

**Stephanie Z **– Thanks for understanding. =] and yeah, so my boyfriend was kind of surprised because he did come over often, but he still spoke to me from the other side of the door. How cute is that. I felt bad after that, but I was glad he understood and still stayed with me. =] and about the story. Thanks for the review. And yeah, hated the filler too. And yeah, I noticed about the ending kiss part. I choose to do that because at that moment I was thinking about my boyfriend. =] haha. But I'm glad you liked the Ron-Pansy part. It was my favorite.

**Gryfferin Princess** – Haha, I know, people looked at me weird too. :p I'm glad you liked last chapter so much. That makes me really, really happy. And yeah, it would be creepy if I came back, although I don't think I would be able to touch the computer, you know, like since I will be a ghost and all, it would be hard. Hahaha. Thanks for the review.

– I'm glad you liked it. =] and yes, I loved the heart to heart as well. Probably the best part of the story. =] thanks for the review. And I knew Stephenie Meyer came out in the movie!

**Anyhoo,**

**Hope you liked it. **

**Review?**

**Yours**

**leilygurl**


	25. Fainting Spells

**A/N**

**Very long time, I know. Forgive me. But here is the next chapter. I would also like to take this time to let you know that I plan on going faster with the plot here, as it is my goal to finish in 30 chapters. I have other projects I would really like to get started on, and it seems that this story is just getting a bit too long for what it can really offer. Hope you understand and continue reading it till the very end. **

**One more thing, a friend of mine, Steph, has joined FanFiction, and has also decided to start writing her own story. She has posted up to chapter 6, and in my opinion, she has a lot of potential and her story is rather interesting. So go check her story out, it's called "Change", a Draco-Hermione ship and it's under her penname "earthgoddess36" (the damn thing wont allow me to plug in the link.) **

**So does is that enough to make it up to you, Steph? XD**

**So now back to my story.**

**Oh, one last thing. Almost till the very end, there will be a part that will be a bit confusing. If you have a lot of trouble with it, let me know, and I'll see what I can do about it. Hope you like it. **

**Chapter 25 "Fainting Spells"**

"Okay, now place your hand over mine, count to three and remove it as fast as you can, before I can slap it with my other hand. See, like that." Hermione told Blaise as she demonstrated, moving her hands slowly.

Blaise took both of his hands back from Hermione and stared at her with his eyebrow arched. "You Muggles have the weirdest games." He told her before he turned to look at Draco. "And you have the weirdest girlfriend ever. Never met anyone like her, I'll give you that."

Draco smirked. "Yeah, well you know me; I've got to have the most unique stuff."

Hermione slapped Draco on the arm. "Hey! I'm still here!" she protested. "And I'm not _stuff_."

Draco laughed along with Blaise. However, Blaise' laugh was cut short as he saw Draco kiss Hermione tenderly on the cheek.

"You two make me sick." He muttered with a grimace.

Hermione giggled. "One day, Zabini, one day you will fall in love and I will be the first to tell you to get a room."

Blaise half smiled. "Not likely, kid."

"Kid?" Hermione echoed.

Draco laughed. "Oh, he tends to do that. He thinks he is much wiser and brilliant than the rest of us, and therefore, he thinks that makes him older."

Blaise turned to Draco. "I am wiser, and I am older. Facts, not thoughts."

"By months!" Draco said back.

Hermione laughed. "Oh, how cute."

Both Slytherins turned to her and gave her black stares. Hermione rolled her eyes. "What? Slytherins aren't cute?"

Both boys shuddered at her remark. "Next thing she will say is that we are soft and cuddly." Blaise said to Draco.

Hermione slowly ran a finger up Draco's arm. "Well, you are soft." She said in a low sort of voice. Then she let herself sink more into his embrace. "And quite cuddly, too." She said with a teasing smile in her lips.

Draco smiled at her boldness while Blaise grunted in disgust. "You disgust me. Get a room." Blaise said for what seemed like the thousandth time.

Draco looked away from Hermione and stared frostily at his friend. "If you don't like it, you can leave." He said in a low voice.

Blaise snorted, but before he could say anything, Hermione spoke up. "Don't be rude, Draco."

Blaise raised an eyebrow at Draco, but Draco decided to ignore him, so Blaise chose to voice what he was going to say before Hermione interrupted him. "Actually," He began, "The only reason why I'm still here is because despite the fact that I advised for you two to get a room, I'm trying to keep you from committing any mistakes." He said in a tone that one would use when voicing an opinion about the weather.

Hermione blushed furiously and looked down. But Draco arched an elegant eyebrow in response to the Italian's remark. "Are you trying to tell me that you are babysitting?" Draco asked after a few minutes of silence.

Blaise nodded, which only caused Hermione to blush a deeper shade of red, something that Draco found utterly adorable. And that did it. His head was spinning with thoughts and images of the mistakes he could be committing with Hermione. He couldn't say he hadn't thought of that before, but well, he hadn't really paid attention to said thoughts. But now that Blaise had mentioned it, Draco was free to pay attention to each and every thought, and he had to admit that he was thankful that Blaise was there.

Not that he thought being with Hermione like that would be a mistake; he just wanted to wait for the right moment and not ruin everything. Despite the popular belief, Draco wasn't really a manwhore. Who would have seen that one coming? Draco smirked slightly as he thought of that, what would Hermione think if he ever told her he had only being with one girl?

Draco was completely lost in his thoughts that it took three calls from Hermione, two from Blaise and finally it was the snap of Hermione's finger in front of his eyes that brought him back to the room.

"Huh?" he said as he focused his gaze on the brown set of eyes that were looking up at him with concern.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked. "We lost you for a minute there."

Draco smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry, I was thinking."

"He thinks!" Blaise said as he threw his arms up and looked at the ceiling in a thanking manner and then looking back at Draco he adopted an expression of fake concern. "Careful now," he began. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself."

"Watch it, Zabini." Draco warned with a dark glance toward the other wizard.

Blaise only laughed, having being used to Draco's threats.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hermione asked, not shaking things off as easily as Blaise had. "What were you thinking about?"

Draco looked down at her. "I'm alright, I promise. Except I am a bit tired, and it is getting quite late, so maybe we should be off to bed now."

Hermione noticed he didn't answer her question. And she was rather curious. But she decided not to push the subject, thinking that it would not be the best thing at the moment. So she just nodded in agreement.

"Thank Merlin! Another hour of watching you two sharing saliva would scar me for life. I'm already thinking of owling my psychologist to make an appointment." Blaise said as he picked up his coat from the floor.

"You should have done that long time ago, Zabini. Maybe you had a chance to be normal then. But we totally lost you." Draco said, shaking his head slowly, as if he really regretted it.

"Says the guy who gets lost in his own head." Blaise said back.

"Here we go again." Hermione muttered as she too slipped her coat on.

Both boys turned to look at her. "I'm liking you less by the second," Blaise said darkly.

"Oh, no! Blaise won't like me for long! How will I live?! How will I go on?!" Hermione said as she leaned on the wall dramatically.

Draco stared at her with amusement as Blaise rolled his eyes. "See, she knows perfectly well what she is loosing." Blaise said to Draco as Hermione continued to fake sob.

Draco snorted. "Right." Then turning to Hermione, he said, "Alright Hermione quit the drama. I'm the only one who is allowed to be dramatic here."

Hermione stood up straight. "Oh, yeah. You and you're ego." She said to him.

Blaise burst out laughing. "Yup, one of a kind. Really sees you the way you are." He said to Draco in between his laughter.

Draco turned to look at Hermione, one eyebrow arched in amusement. "As in totally sexy and irresistible?" he said with his smirk. Hermione could tell he was trying to not let any comment get to him. However, she was still aware of the fact that she had always being the only one to be able to get under his skin.

So she smiled brightly at him a total fake smile he didn't fail to notice as she took a hold of his hand. "Sure. Very sexy and very irresistible." She said.

He smiled at her. "Yup, I'm used to it."

"I'm sure." She said with that silly smile still about her lips.

Draco leaned down to kiss her softly, cradling her cheek in his hand. Blaise looked up from dusting his pants, saw them, and rolled his eyes.

As much as he told them that he was disgusted about their little shows, he was actually surprised by Draco's actions. Being Draco's best friend had left Blaise with the knowledge that each and every conquest of Draco's was secret and not flashy at all. He knew that Draco was not keen on public display of affection, however, the way he seemed to not be able to keep his hands of Hermione for more than a second gave Blaise the hope that Draco had actually found someone important, if not the one, as corny as that sounded.

Blaise was secretly happy for his friend, considering that Slytherins do not show that kind of happiness and neither do guys, for that matter. But he was still glad, but that wasn't really the word. He was _relieved_. Yeah, that was more like it. Blaise was actually worried that Draco, having the father that he had, would turn out to be cold and empty. But now that Blaise saw him with Hermione, he understood that his friend was a completely different person than his father. And that, in a way, gave him a lesson.

He sighed loudly as he once again proceeded to tell the couple in front of him how much he was disgusted with their inability to keep their hands -and mouths for that matter- to themselves. Yup, they were lucky he was there, alright.

0000

Hermione woke up to the sound of an owl hitting her window with its beak. She groaned as she pushed her covers aside and stepped on the cold floor. She quickly walked towards the window to let the owl in. Once the window was opened, the owl rushed in quickly, making Hermione duck as the owl flew right above her head.

The black beautiful owl perched itself on the edge of Hermione's bed and glanced back at her, waiting to have the note it carried removed from its leg.

Hermione made a face at the owl before she closed her window and hurriedly crossed the floor towards her bed. Once she was there she began to untie the piece of parchment from the owl's leg. She was unfolding it and was about to start reading it when the owl suddenly bit her on her index finger.

Hermione quickly pulled her hand away, managing to drop the note on the floor as she lifted her finger towards her face to see how much damage the owl had made. Once again the owl aimed at her finger. Hermione frowned at the owl before she reached for a treat. The owl eyed her intently.

So Hermione turned back to the window and half ran to it. As she opened it the owl flew towards the ceiling. Hermione looked at the owl and threw the treat out the window. The bird launched after its prize. Once the bird was outside, Hermione shut her window close and walked back to her bed, looking around to see where the note had fallen while at the same time sucking on her finger to ease the pain.

She had to get on her knees and look under her bed to find the note. After she managed to get it out from its place under her bed, Hermione sat it on her bed as she reached for her wand. Casting a quick healing spell at her finger, Hermione then reached for the note. She unfolded it and began to read.

_Miss Granger,_

_Please stop by my office today before your breakfast. I have to speak with you, and I'm afraid it's quite urgent. _

_-Albus Dumbledore_

_P.S I ate a chocolate frog. _

Hermione folded the note with a frown set on her face. She then proceeded to put her school robes on so she could get to the headmaster's office as soon as possible. She looked around her dorm and was surprised to find that everyone was gone. Realizing that she had woken up later than usual, Hermione began to run down the flight of stairs that separated the girls' dorms from the common room.

It was quite obvious she wouldn't get to breakfast today, and she hoped that the meeting with Dumbledore wouldn't last so long that it would cause her to be late to her class. She silently cursed as she narrowly avoided falling on her face as she tried to get past the Fat Lady portrait, since her foot managed to hit the corner of the wall.

Finally she made it to the headmaster's office. She quickly said the password that was written on her letter and soon enough found herself inside the office, standing right in front of Dumbledore's desk.

Hermione didn't expect to see him there. She always thought of him as the kind to make the entrance once the person whom he is waiting for is there. The man just gave off that vibe, but not this time. This time, the old professor was sitting in his chair, leaning back and staring directly at the door, or her, since she was now in the way.

"Miss Granger," The old wizard greeted her. "Thank you for coming."

Hermione stared at him, wondering what could be so urgent. The twinkle that was usually found in his eyes wasn't there at the moment. As Hermione studied him more, he seemed very serious and she could tell he was a bit uncomfortable. But there was something else. Something Hermione couldn't quite place. Realizing that Dumbledore was still waiting for her reply, Hermione cleared her throat to speak.

"Professor," she began. "I have to admit your note worried me quite a bit. Exactly what is this about?" Hermione said. The words sounded blunt even to he ears. But she never liked going in circles. She preferred to get to the point as quickly as possible, it was much better, since it allowed much more time to analyze and decide what to do in response.

Dumbledore stood gracefully from his chair. As he walked around his desk, he motioned Hermione to sit. Hermione slowly declined the offer and turned to look at the old wizard. Dumbledore looked as if he would wait until she sat down, but apparently he decided not to push her further. Instead he sighed and cleared his own throat.

"Miss Granger," he began. "I'm afraid I have bad news for you."

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "What is it?" she asked, concern coloring her voice.

"Hermione?"

Hermione quickly turned around to look at the person calling for her. Her father stood in front of the door. His face brightened for just a second at the sight of his daughter, but the happiness quickly faded. Hermione took that time to really look at her father. His age was now visible, there were dark circles under his eyes and he seemed restless.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Hermione asked as she walked to him.

"Oh, honey," her father said as she held her in a tight hug. "It's your mother." He said in a hoarse voice, as if he were trying to, well, keep from crying.

Hermione pulled away a bit to look her father in the eyes. "What happened?"

"We went to your Aunt Jill's house. And well on the way back it was raining, the car slipped and we drove off the road." He said in a rush.

For the first time Hermione noticed the bandages that were wrapped around his torso peeking down from under his shirt. She looked up at him again, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "And?" she asked slowly, afraid for the answer. Afraid that it was exactly what she was thinking.

"Well, your mother…" he didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. Hermione understood completely. She hugged her father tightly, tears running down her cheeks. However, she didn't sub. She didn't yell. She just let the tears fall and only hugged her father tighter.

Mr. Granger held her as tightly. Thinking only that she was the last thing he had in the world, he still couldn't quite believe what had happened. But he had to face it all, for him, for his daughter.

Sometime later, Hermione finally pulled away from her father. Her tears had dried on her cheeks, none were falling. She could only stare at her father and see how fragile he seemed.

"So when do we leave?" Hermione asked her father.

0000

A week later Hermione was back in school. Her mother's funeral had been nothing but depressing. She still managed to keep herself controlled. She knew her father was keeping a charade up for her, but in truth it was Hermione the one who was protecting. She hated to see her father like that. But she had to go back to school, and he needed his space. So she asked her aunt to watch over him for her. And with that she decided to stop agonizing over the past.

Once she got back to school, Dumbledore asked her if she wanted to take the day off, so that she could rest. Hermione thanked him but said no, thinking that the sooner she started classes the sooner her mind would be occupied, with no room left to feel the sadness.

She was also waiting to see Draco. She hadn't gotten the chance to say goodbye at all. She felt some guilt for leaving like that, but she was sure he would understand. Or at least she hoped he would. Besides, she had gotten the chance to say a quick goodbye to her friends to let them know what was going on, so she knew it was possible for Draco to have asked for her and a little information about her sudden absence.

She sighed as she let herself fall into her bed. Everyone else was at breakfast, and Hermione didn't really want to be there. She rolled onto her stomach and lifted her legs. She thought about her father all by himself in their house where so many memories about her mother rested. She swung her legs back and forth, but let them drop hard against the mattress when thoughts about her mother came into her mind. She then rolled again, this time she was facing the red curtains on her poster bed.

She closed her eyes tightly for a second, fighting back tears. When she knew not one would escape, she got up from her bed quickly and got dressed in her robes, ready to face her friends, her boyfriend, and to welcome every new thing that would cram itself inside her head.

Once Hermione was dressed, she made her way down to her first class. She was careful to keep her head down, so no one would see her. But apparently everyone was still in the great hall. With a sigh of relief, Hermione opened the door to her first class and sat slowly on her seat. The professor wasn't there, but there were a few notes written on the chalkboard at the front of the class, and several textbooks were piled on one of the tables that were next to the professor's desk. All the books were alike, so Hermione figured those were the books that they had been using, considering that the notes on the board had the title of the books as its reference.

Hermione got up from her seat and went to get a book. She stood in front of the table as she grabbed one and flipped the cover open. She began to read the table of contents and she was quite happy that she had not read that book yet, meaning that she could really pay attention to this class.

She was halfway through the chapter that had been more interesting to her as the door to the class opened. Hermione quickly lifted her head as she shut the book closed with a loud thud. She found herself staring into the most gorgeous silver eyes she had ever seen.

He stood frozen at the door, trying to figure out if what he was seeing was just his mind playing tricks on him. '_How pathetic'_ he thought to himself, '_I can't miss her that much.'_ He tried to convince himself.

Just at that time, Hermione seemed to recover from her moment of slowness. She turned completely towards him and was about to say his name when the door to the class opened again, this time, a string of people walked through, letting Hermione know that it was now time for class. Draco seemed to realize that there were people trying to pass by him, but also trying to not touch him. He looked back at Hermione with an eyebrow arched. He slightly shook his head and went to his seat at the back. Hermione wondered if she had imagined that.

Just as she was walking towards her seat, she heard a call from a familiar voice. "Hermione! You're back!" Hermione looked once again towards the door only to find herself in the arms of Ron. She smiled slightly at him as she pulled back.

"How are you?" Harry asked as he two gave her a hug, although his was a bit more awkward. Hermione gave him a brilliant smile. She tried to ignore the fact that it felt totally fake. But then she wondered if it looked fake as well.

"I'm okay," Hermione answered.

The unconvinced expression on Harry's face told her that her smile did look fake. She tried to tone it down a bit.

She could tell that Harry and Ron wanted to ask her more questions, but something in her face kept them from doing that. Instead they led her to her seat, and each took their own usual seat around her and began to tell her about the silliest things that had happened during her absence. Hermione smiled, nodded and even laughed quietly in all the right places, although she wasn't paying much attention. She was thankful for their efforts though. But she was much more preoccupied with Draco's reaction.

0000

The day went by in a blur. Even though Hermione shared more classes with Draco, in neither did they speak. Hermione searched his eyes, but he safely kept his gaze away from her. It was enough to make her sick. She couldn't understand his behavior, and it was annoying her to no end. It was so bad that Hermione decided to not attend lunch. When she announced to her friends that she would take a walk outside, they loyally offered their company, but Hermione told them she would rather be alone. Truth to be told, she couldn't face Draco and his coldness.

She had meant to ask Harry and Ron about that, she wanted to know if Draco had asked for her, but she couldn't bring herself to. Sooner than she thought, the morning had gone by, as had lunch. With another sigh she walked back to the castle. Thankfully it was two more classed before she saw Draco again.

The classes were tedious, and only served to get her more anxious. Finally it was time for Potions. Hermione walked with her two friends to the dungeons, each boy on one of her sides. Once again they tried to distract her, but if it hadn't worked before, it was not going to work now.

Once they arrived to their destination, Hermione couldn't help herself and as soon as she walked into the room she glanced towards the back were Draco usually sat. She was a bit surprised to find him there, his head resting on the table, his arms under the desk. She frowned and quickly made it to her seat.

About a minute later, Snape walked into the room, causing the room to fall completely silent. "Get with your groups." He quickly said as he was walking towards his desk. Hermione looked around her with a confused look on her face.

Snape looked directly at her. "Did you not hear me, Miss Granger?" he said slowly.

Hermione bit her bottom lip before answering. Surely the professor had noticed her absence. "I don't know who I'm supposed to be working with," Hermione said.

Snape arched an eyebrow before he addressed the whole class. "Mark this one down on your calendars. It seems like Miss Granger here doesn't know something."

Hermione blushed scarlet red, but kept her head held high. No one in the room laughed, although some whispers were heard about. Snape returned his dark eyes to her. "Perhaps you should have made sure to know what was going on in class before you came in."

Hermione was about to tell him that she had just gotten here this morning, but he interrupted her. "Get with Malfoy." He said before turning away.

Hermione was stunned. She sat there for at least two more seconds before glancing back at Draco. She found him staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face. She gulped and quickly gathered her things before making her way to his table.

"Dra-Malfoy." She greeted him.

He barely nodded in acknowledgement.

'_Fine,'_ Hermione thought. _'If that's how he wants it to be, that's how it will be. I can't possibly know what's wrong if he doesn't tell me.' _She reasoned with herself. And yet that guilty feeling washed over her again. She chose to ignore it.

"So what are we supposed to be doing?" she asked as she took her seat next to him.

Draco pushed a piece of parchment towards her. "Memorize the facts. We will present to the class the history of this potion."

Hermione stared at him for a second before looking down at the parchment. It was the Fire Protection Potion. Hermione knew this one was the potion Snape had used in her first year to allow her and Harry to walk past the magical fire when they had been looking for, well, Snape. But she didn't mention that to Draco, she also didn't mention that she had already researched that potion ages ago. Instead she pretended to read, but was looking at Draco from the corner of her eye.

Her was very serious and just staring ahead, his eyes not focused on anything. After a minute or so of silence, Hermione turned to him. "Did you make this report on your own?"

Draco shrugged. "The partner I was assigned disappeared, so I really didn't have an option."

Hermione stared at him. "Draco," she whispered.

But he couldn't hear her. As much as she tried, she couldn't bring herself to voice his name any louder. Instead she sighed, thinking that she would talk to him when they had more privacy.

"Alright, so since you did the research, I'll speak."

Draco just nodded. Hermione bit her lip again, but this time in pure frustration. But at least her question was answered. Draco had not asked for her. She turned her whole body so that she was completely facing the front. She crossed her right leg over her left and crossed her arms around her stomach.

Sooner than she thought, Snape was calling them up to talk about their potion. Even though Hermione would be the only one to talk, Draco went up with her as well. He leaned on Snape's desk while Hermione stood straight and prepared to speak.

"The Fire Protection Potions was first invented…" _who the hell does he think he is? He honestly can't think that I read minds does he?... "_It's meant to work as a shield against magical fire. The potion is rather easy to make, since the procedure is a pretty basic one…" _Seriously! It's not like I left on a vacation, It's not like I had another option!... _"However, it's finding the ingredients that makes this potion a bit complex. Most of them are found in any herb shop, but there are some rare ones that are…"

Suddenly Hermione couldn't concentrate so well. Although she was going through her speech rather well with no sign that there was an argument going on in her head, Hermione was feeling a bit exhausted. There were just so many things to deal with, even if she was used to talking about something that was totally different from what she was thinking at the time, she could only take so much.

Draco noticed something was wrong with Hermione. She paused in all the wrong places. Her breathing quickened. Her skin became flushed and she wasn't standing so straight anymore. Instead, she was walking slowly backwards towards the desk, so that she could rest against something while she attempted to once again catch the string of her speech. But no such luck.

Hermione felt like she couldn't breathe. It was a mixture of feelings inside her. Things she couldn't explain. She lost her focus, her eyes refusing to see clear. She heard a loud buzz in her ears that didn't allow her to think correctly. She still had a few more steps before she reached to desk for support. She desperately tried to pull her thoughts together as she continued to give her speech.

The class stared at her wide eyed, although she couldn't see any of this. Her sentences weren't making any sense, words slurred and run over the next. Suddenly something inside her snapped. A loud buzz in her ears kept her from thinking straight. She saw darkness around her. She tried to quicken her pace to reach the desk, but she couldn't even find herself. She couldn't tell if she was moving at all or not. She just suddenly felt a bit light and that's when she realized she was falling back, falling into that suffocating darkness.

She braced herself for what was coming, she awaited the pain that would course to her once she hit whatever it was that she was falling against. But it didn't come. It was hard for her to focus, but she could hear yells in the background, she could hear someone frantically calling her name. She focused on that voice. She focused all her attention on that voice calling her name, hoping she could find her way back. But it was impossible. She was standing in a darkroom, that voice echoed off the dark walls, whenever she thought she was walking in the right direction, the voice would come from behind her. it was a game, a rather cruel one. She decided to give up. She sat right where she was, and let the darkness take her.

Draco saw her falling. He saw her and run to her. He didn't know what overtook him. He totally forgot where he was. He ignored the gasps as he caught her. He ignored the dirty looks some of his housemates were giving him for touching her, as well as the frowns from the students of the other house, who didn't quite trust him with their princess.

"Hermione, Hermione. Wake up." He pleaded into her ear. Her two bestfriends were standing right in front of Draco and the girl; they too tried to call her back. But Hermione wasn't responding. She was half standing, half resting on Draco.

Her efforts to keep straight were pure reflexes, since he could tell she was totally out of it. So he lifted her completely in his arms, earning himself more gasps.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Something you were too slow to do yourself." Draco responded as he pushed past him. He only glanced back at the professor, who looked at him with an arched eyebrow, to let him know he was leaving.

"I'm taking her to Pomfrey," he said more to the class than to the professor. Nonetheless, Snape nodded and Draco quickly left the room. It was a long walk towards the hospital wing, and it would be that much tiring with him carrying Hermione. But it was all worth it.

Draco shook his head as he gazed at the now pale girl in his arms. He continued walking, leaving behind a room full of whispers that would surely bring no good.

**A/N**

**So the conversation between Blaise and Draco about Blaise being older, I don't know if that's true, but bits and pieces of that conversation are part of a conversation I had with a friend, and he suggested I write it down, since he saw how much I was suffering with this chapter. =]**

**You better be happy with this chapter. I erased it about a thousand times, and I still couldn't get it right. To tell you the truth, I still don't like it much. But oh well. My story is at that one place where you don't exactly know where to go since you have to write about so many things but don't exactly know how to put an order to them. It sucks. I know it was terrible for me to kill Hermione's mother, and I know this makes the story even less like the one Rowling wrote, but I don't really care right now. That's how things are now. XD**

**But anyways, here are the replies to your reviews. **

**Youn2731- **First of all, thanks for the review! And yeah, it would be great if Hermione and Pansy became friends. I think I might use that in my future chapters. =] I'm glad you liked the way I made Pansy. I realized I needed to give the girl a break.

**Stephanie Z/ earthgoddess36- **I'm glad you liked that chapter so much. You have no idea how happy that makes me. Although, I do think I already replied to this review in a private message, did I not. hmm, still, for whoever is reading, yes this fic will have sour times, as you already see. XD and my idea for this story is for the whole world to change as they see the new and very surprising couple that Hermione and Draco make. That's why I add so many points of views. =] Thanks for the review!

**Sai-Mei03 – **wow, my story is being recommended! Lol your review almost made me cry. XD I'm glad you like it so much, and that you put me in your top 5's. you have no idea how much that means to me. =] thanks for the review.

**Gryfferin Princess- **thanks for the correction. =] and yeah, the twilight movie was great, although honestly it could have been better. And I'm so happy you like how I'm portraying my characters! Thank you for reading and for the review!

**Leilygurlfan! – **well I have to say I love your name. XD yes, I have thought about a Ron/Pansy ship, but I still have to think a bit more about it. who knows. My first language is Spanish, so do forgive the mistakes. I have promised myself that I will edit this story once I'm through with it. I was reading it the other day, and wow I really did suck at the beginning. Lol. Thanks for reviewing and for the idea. I thought I would be the only one supporting the Ron/Pansy thing, but its nice to know what you think. =]

**xxmaisiexx96- **hmm another supporter of the Ron/Pansy relationship. I think I will have to consider it more seriously. Lol. It would be a great thing right? For their hearts to be whole again. =] thanks for the review and for the compliment!

**So I hopes you liked this chapter. I decided to post it now before I change my mind and erase it again. Grr. **

**So, **

**Review? **

**Yours,**

**lelilygurl**


	26. Congrats?

**Chapter 26 "Congrats?"**

"Oh, dear. What happened?" The mediwitch asked as she stood from her desk once Draco arrived with Hermione in his arms.

"She fainted," Draco answered while he followed Pomfrey to where the beds were.

The mediwitch pushed back the curtains that circled a bed, motioning for Draco to set the girl down. He did as he was told. He put Hermione down as gently as he could, trying not to disturb her.

"You brought her all the way from?" The old witch asked as she began to check Hermione for a fever.

"The dungeon, we were in Potions." He answered automatically, not really paying attention to the older witch. He just looked down at Hermione.

"Exactly what happened?" Pomfrey asked.

Draco shrugged. "We were giving a presentation. She was speaking at the time, but all of a sudden she felt dizzy and began to fall back. That's when she fainted."

"Did she hit her head?"

Draco shook his head. "No. I caught her before she could fall."

"I see," She murmured.

Draco looked at her. "Do you know what's wrong?"

"Miss Granger just suffered from an overload of stress. Her body couldn't take so much, so she collapsed. But she will be alright. Right now she is just sleeping it all off. You may go back to class." She answered.

Dumbledore had already told Pomfrey about Hermione's situation. In fact he had asked her to prepare a potion of some kind that could help Hermione deal with pains she felt. However, the potion didn't make the pain go away, it just numbed them. Pomfrey had mentioned this to Dumbledore, and they decided that it was best if Hermione dealt with things herself. Now, Madame Pomfrey regretted that.

"Potions will be over in less than five minutes, and I don't have another class after that. So I would rather stay here." Draco answered nonchalantly.

Madame Pomfrey looked like she wanted to protest, but she sighed and nodded once. "Very well then. Just don't disturb her."

"I won't." Draco answered as he sat on the chair that was next to the bed.

He just sat there, staring at her still form. His mind was blank, except for the images of her in class that kept on playing over and over again. He didn't know what was wrong with her. Two days ago he decided he didn't want to know. But he still cared, so therefore he wanted to know. He wanted to be able to help her with whatever was going on.

About fifteen minutes later, Draco heard some noises coming from the door. He peeked through the curtain that Madame Pomfrey had pulled back into place when she left, and found Harry and Ron standing there, speaking to the mediwitch.

From what he could hear, they wanted to come in and see Hermione. But Pomfrey wouldn't let them. She just told them that Hermione was resting, and that she was not to be disturbed. The two boys left after they had made the mediwitch promise about a thousand times that Hermione would be alright.

Draco smirked and turned back to the bed, only to find Hermione awake with her eyes on him. He rocked back on his heels, not knowing what to do. He wanted to look away, to walk away, and to still be angry with her. But he couldn't. Her eyes wouldn't let her.

"You stayed," Hermione said softly, struggling to make her voice be audible.

Draco walked to his chair and sat down, pulling it closer to the bed so that Hermione didn't waste so much energy in lifting her voice. Once he was there, he looked into her eyes for a second before looking away.

"It's the least I could do." He mumbled.

"You're wrong. You could have done nothing. From the way you treated me today, I would have expected you to just walk away." Hermione said, her voice full of emotion.

Those words clutched at Draco's heart, and he was angry again. "This coming from the girl who didn't even bother to let me know that she was leaving." He said bitterly.

Hermione winced. "I'm sorry, but I didn't have the time."

"But you did have the time to tell your friends." He said sharply.

"I left a note on my bed; sure that Ginny would find it."

"How about sending an owl after you did leave?" Draco said.

"Did you even ask for me?" Hermione shot back.

Draco looked her straight in the eye. "Of course I did."

"Then why are you so angry?"

"Because I still didn't know where you were!"

Hermione looked at him with confusion. "I'm not following you."

"I asked Weasel what had happened to you, why you hadn't been in breakfast or any class. He looked at me for a second before answering, and when he did, he only told me that if you hadn't told me anything about you leaving, then he couldn't say anything either."

"Ron didn't tell you what happened?" Hermione asked as she sat up.

"No, Hermione, he didn't. So I had to spend a whole week worried about you, angry with you and with the urge to jinx Weasel silly."

Hermione bit her lip, and all of a sudden tears started to roll down her cheek. Draco's annoyed expression changed quickly as he took in the scene in front of him. He immediately went to her. He sat on the bed and took her in his arms. Even though he was dying to know what was wrong, he waited for her crying to slow a bit. He kissed the top of her head as she continued to sob into his chest.

Once the crying died out a bit, Draco pulled back a bit and placed his finger under her chin to lift it so that he could see her eyes.

"What happened?" he asked softly, his hand returning to her arm and he began to make little soothing circles to comfort her.

"My parents," her voice cracked. "My parents had an accident," she said, her eyes welling up again.

"Are they alright?" Draco asked after a few seconds of silence.

Hermione bit her lower lip before answering. "My father is, my mother, she, she didn't make it." Hermione finally answered, her voice breaking on the last word.

Draco understood immediately and he held her closer and tighter, allowing her to continue drenching the front of his robes. He kept on tracing shapes on her arm and back with his hand, not knowing what else to do. Finally Hermione pulled back as her sobbing ceased.

"I'm terribly sorry Hermione, I had no idea-"

"Shh," Hermione interrupted, shaking her head. "I knew I should have told you. But I left with my father. I barely had time to grab the things I needed and to leave a note to Ginny. I decided I could owl you later, to let you know I was alright, since I figured they boys would tell you if you asked. I just didn't see this coming."

"I'm still sorry for not being there when you needed me, for treating you like crap."

Hermione smiled faintly. "Tell you what; I'll forgive you, if you forgive me."

Draco returned the smile. "Deal." He answered.

"It's settled then. Now, there was one thing I did miss a lot this week, and it wasn't your ego-" Hermione was saying before she was interrupted by Draco's mouth on hers. She smiled into his lips as she returned the kiss.

After a few second, Draco pulled back. "Was it that?" he asked with his smirk on his face.

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Close enough," she said before grinning.

Draco laughed softly. "I'm so glad you are back." He whispered.

**0000**

Later that day, after Draco had left, or actually, had been kicked out of the hospital wing by the mediwitch, Hermione was seating in her hospital bed speaking with her three closest friends. Ginny was basically bouncing off her chair as she saw the argument going on between her best friend and her brother.

Hermione had decided to talk to Ron about his refusal to let Draco know about her mother's death. Ron was still using the "I didn't know if you wanted him to know" excuse, and Hermione had to agree it sounded logical. News like those was better delivered by the person closest to said news. In this case, it was Hermione's job to let Draco know, not her friends.

Ginny seemed disappointed that her brother didn't get yelled at too much. Harry was amused by the whole thing. For him it was like watching a really bad soap opera. He laughed at the thought and everyone turned to look at him. He realized what he had done and blushed.

"What's so funny?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," Hermione added. "Care to share the joke with us."

Harry looked from face to face, chewing on his bottom lip. "Um, nothing. I was just thinking."

"About?" Ron asked.

Harry shook his head. "It's not important."

The three of them still eyed Harry quizzically, but let it go nonetheless. Hermione soon asked about all the things she had missed, meaning what assignments was she meant to work on. All three of her friends rolled their eyes and told her to take a break.

But they soon understood that Hermione needed to keep her mind busy, so they told her about all the projects she had missed and therefore, had to work on them by herself. Hermione seemed thrilled to know this.

"You know, if what you are looking for is more work, you can always do my homework…" Ron suggested.

Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes at the redhead. "Nice try." Hermione answered.

Ron sighed dramatically. "It was worth a shot."

"Sure was," Harry said with the same wistful expression on his face, as if he was really upset Hermione hadn't agreed.

Hermione instantly knew he was teasing. She rolled her eyes as Ginny laughed at her boyfriend. Harry gave Ginny a lopsided grin and Ron scowled at the both of them and turned away from them. Hermione hid a smile.

"Still not used to it?" Hermione whispered to him.

Ron shrugged. "Does it really matter?"

"I guess not," Hermione answered.

Then the two of them looked at Harry and Ginny who were talking softly. Ron shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he heard Ginny giggle. Hermione felt uncomfortable with the whole thing, and figured Ron was suffering even more than her, so she cleared her throat.

Once she got their attention she said, "Leave that for when you are alone, alright? It's not nice to be like that when there are other people in the room."

Ginny blushed and Harry laughed. "Look who's talking."

Hermione feigned indignation. "When have you seen me giving public displays of affection?"

Harry pretended to think. "Ok, so I haven't seen you-"

"So why the accusation?"

Ron laughed at Harry's expression. "Leave it at that, mate. You obviously have no dirt on her."

Hermione and Ginny laughed as Harry scowled. Just at that moment Madame Pomfrey appeared from behind the curtain.

"That's enough for today. The three of you, get to your rooms immediately," she said pointing at Harry, Ginny and Ron. Then she looked at Hermione.

"And you, drink this. It will calm your nerves and help you to sleep."

Hermione frowned. "Can't I go as well?"

"I'm sorry, but you can't. You must spend the night here."

"When will I be allowed to leave? I'm I going to attend classes tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

"Actually, I would prefer for you to stay tomorrow as well. But we'll see." Pomfrey answered.

Hermione sighed, a wistful expression on her face. "Alright then," she said turning to her friends as the mediwitch placed the potion she was meant to drink on the nightstand.

They all said their goodbyes, promising to come visit her the next day. Hermione sighed as she saw their retreating backs and turned to take the potion from its place and drink it. After she had placed the small flask back, she made herself comfortable and drifted off to sleep.

**0000**

Draco sighed loudly as he said the password to the portrait guarding the entrance to the Slytherin house. The whole day had been pretty long for him. It had been rather hard to ignore Hermione when what he wanted to do was yell at her for not letting him know what had happened to her, he wanted to ask her why she seemed so sad.

He was glad they had finally talked about it. He was more than glad, he was absolutely ecstatic. He wasn't pleased with the things that had had to happen first for them to talk, but he was still happy things had worked out.

Draco was so absorbed in thoughts of Hermione as he walked towards the stairs that would lead him to his dorm that he didn't realize that the common was empty, or almost empty, since there was a figure standing by the chimney. Draco saw said figure from the corner of his eye. Draco's glanced to the side sharply, only to find his father staring at him. Draco frowned as he looked around to make sure the two of them were alone.

"Draco," his father greeted him.

Draco nodded in acknowledgment. "Father." He responded.

"I trust you are well," his father said.

Draco didn't like the tone on his father's voice. It wasn't that he was speaking differently than he usually did; he had always spoken to Draco with a certain monotone that never ceased to get on Draco's nerves. But this time, there was something else coloring his voice. It was a warning, a warning that let Draco know that his father was about to say something that Draco was sure he would not like.

Draco kept his face blank. "I am. How are you and mother?" he asked.

"Your mother misses you. She wishes for me to give you this," Lucius said as he handed Draco an envelope.

Draco took it with another nod. He turned the paper this way and that in his hands before looking up at his father again.

"And to what do I owe your visit?" Draco asked.

The older Malfoy eyed his son carefully before speaking. "Perhaps we should seek a more private place for us to talk."

"Perhaps we should." Draco agreed as he followed his father through the portrait hole. They walked down the hall in silence. Soon enough they reached a classroom. The older wizard motioned for Draco to open the door. Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and did as he was told.

The room held nothing but old desks, dust and spider webs. He moved aside so that his father could enter, then he followed. Once he was inside he closed the door, and the faint stream of light that came from the fire torches on the walls outside vanished, leaving the room rather dark.

Lucius took out his wand and whispered something and suddenly there was a stream of white light coming from the tip of his wand. Draco's eyes adjusted to the faint lightning.

"Well?" Draco prompted.

"I have received some news, Draco, about your latest doings in this castle."

"And said news say…?"

"It seems like you are seeing that filthy mudblood."

"Is that what you heard?" Draco stalled.

"That was the main thing, yes." His father answered.

"And you believed that?" Draco asked.

"Well, actually I did."

"And that's the reason for your visit." Draco said, still desperate to not get to any point.

"Quit going in circles son."

Draco stared at his father in confusion. But it was all a show of course. Draco understood perfectly well. "I don't understand," he said.

To his surprise, his father smirked. "I've come to congratulate you."

Draco was dumbfounded. "Excuse me?"

"You're plan is bloody brilliant."

"Oh?" Draco asked, now his confusion was real.

"To get close to the mudblood like that, to get closer to the Potter kid. Bloody brilliant!" his father said in a rush. It seemed like he was talking more to himself than to Draco.

"You think I'm using Granger to get closer to Potter?" Draco asked.

"It never occurred to me that you were capable of planning schemes such as this. You should've let me known. But then again, secrecy is the most important thing in this kind of plans, so I forgive you for that-"

"You think I'm using Granger to get closer to Potter?" Draco asked again, interrupting his father's mumbling.

"Is it not what you are doing?"

"No," Draco began, his face now flushed with anger.

"Oh, so you are just having fun then. I should have figured that. You do remind me of myself when I studied here. But just as well, I suppose it's a good thing I came. Now that you are close to her, you can find out more things about Potter."

"Wait, stop." Draco said as he held his hand up. "I refuse to use Granger to get to Potter."

"What do you mean?" Lucius asked, concern, anger and confusion showing on his face.

"Exactly what you heard. I'm not using Granger."

"You will do as I say," his father began, the threats evident in his voice.

"No, I won't."

"Draco," his father tried again.

"Father," Draco said loudly. "I said no." he said before turning to yank the door open. Before he took walked out he turned to his father. "I'm not anything like you." He said darkly before stepping out and slamming the door shut behind him.

He walked quickly to his common room, ignoring the calls from his father.

"Draco, turn around right now." His father commanded.

Draco was about to say the password to the portrait from his house, he was standing right in front of it so he decided to face his father. He knew he wouldn't get him off his back so easily. So he turned to face the older wizard. To his surprise, his father had his wand pointed at him.

Draco's eyebrows arched. "You are seriously not trying to use that here, are you? You know what will happen if you use your wand against me here." Draco said coolly.

Lucius lifted his chin a bit higher, but dropped his arm to his side. "You will not disobey me." He threatened.

"_Fidelius_." Draco muttered.

"What?" his father asked.

The portrait to his side swung open. "Goodbye father, do send mother my greetings." Draco said before he walked in, the portrait swung closed behind him.

Draco quickly climbed the stairs and opened the door to his dorm. He found his friends there, some were sleeping, and others were just talking amongst themselves. Draco walked to his bed with long strides, his head held high and his hands in his pockets.

"Look at that," Blaise said. "There goes arrogance in person."

Draco turned to look at his friend and smirked faintly. "Quite the observer, aren't you Zabini."

Blaise smirked in return as he saw his friend sit on his bed. "I try."

Draco sighed as he lay down, still fully clothed. He tried to make his mind blank, but images of Hermione being hurt kept on coming into his mind. He sighed again as he got up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Blaise asked.

"For a walk." Draco answered in his lazy drawl as he walked out the door.

He walked quickly through the dark castle, making his way towards the hospital wing. Soon enough, he was there. He opened the door slightly to check that the mediwitch was no longer there. He saw it was dark inside, so he quickly walked towards Hermione's bed. On his way there, he heard noised coming from Pomfrey's office, which caused him to walk faster.

Once he got there, he noticed that Hermione was asleep. He walked closer to bed until he could hear her soft, even breaths. He leaned over her, and then he put an arm under her back and another under her knees. He lifted her slightly to move her over to leave enough space for him. She stirred slightly and sighed deeply.

Draco lay next to her, all the movement caused her to wake up. She stared at him through half closed eyes. Draco stared back.

"Am I dreaming?" she murmured.

"Did you know that a person dies three times," Draco whispered to her. "One when the last breath leaves their bodies, two when said person is buried and three when the person is forgotten."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione said as she rolled on her side so that she was facing him.

"Do you think that if we forget a person, in a way, they die?" Draco whispered into her forehead.

Hermione thought about that for a bit. But she didn't get a chance to respond, since Draco suddenly decided to kiss her.

Draco tried not to think about his father's threats. But he hadn't been afraid before, so why was he so afraid now. That's when he realized that before he met Hermione he had nothing to loose, now…

He preferred not to think about it, instead he held her tighter, crushing both their bodies together. Hermione buried her face in his chest and Draco placed a small kiss on the top of her head. And with that, they fell asleep.

**A/N **

**Okay people, I seriously tried to update Saturday, but at least I didn't take that long. So, tell me what you thought. I don't have much time, so I can't reply to your reviews today. But I'll get to them next chapter, alright, along with the new ones you leave after you read this. **

**So,**

**Review?**

**leilygurl**


	27. Not So Secret

**A/N**

**Sorry I took so long. I seriously am. But let's get on to the chapter alright. =]**

**Chapter 27 "Not So Secret" **

Hermione fluttered her eyes open only to close them again quickly as the light the poured from outside through the window greeted her. She snuggled deeper into the covers, and closer into the person next to her.

All of a sudden Hermione opened her eyes again, not caring about the glaring lights. She looked up to find Draco looking lazily at her through half closed eyes. The right corner of his lip turned up into a small smile. He began to rub her arm with his fingertips.

"Good morning," Hermione smiled up at him.

"Morning," he mumbled in response.

They continued to lay there and stare into each other's eyes until Draco remembered where he was, and why he was there. Hermione had a good reason to be there, but he didn't. He pulled away from Hermione and fluidly stood up.

Hermione arched an eyebrow as she glanced up at him. She propped herself up on her right elbow and held her head with her hand. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

Draco seemed disoriented. He looked for his shoes; once he spotted them he snatched them up and sat on the bed to put them on. Hermione sat up and placed a hand on Draco's back.

"Draco," she began.

"I have to go," he told her quickly, careful not to meet her gaze.

"There's something wrong, I know it. Tell me what it is." She commanded.

"If Pomfrey finds me here, I don't want to know how much trouble we will be in." he said as he finally looked back at her.

She had a red mark that ran up her cheekbone, her hair was as wild as ever, her lips were full and pink, and the corners of her eyes showed that she had just barely opened them, although they were wide with concern.

He sighed and leaned towards her. He placed a soft kiss on her lips, pulled back to look into her eyes, than gave her another small kiss, this time on her forehead. "I'll come by later." He told her before he left.

Hermione still sat on her bed wondering what was wrong with him. She wanted to ask him why he had come to her last night, talking about people dying three times and questioning her about forgetting someone. She sighed and shrugged it off as she fell back into the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Her questions would have to wait. Soon enough she was asleep again.

0000

"Whoa! Draco, slow down." Blaise said as Draco pushed past him into their dorm.

"I have to get ready for class," Draco muttered as an excuse.

"Mate, you're wearing your uniform robes, the ones you were wearing last night, may I add, and they look slept on, so I'm guessing that you not sleeping here doesn't mean you were somewhere else… not sleeping." Blaise finished with a suggestive tone.

Draco looked back at him. "What?" he asked.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "You understood perfectly well. Now tell me, what has gotten into you?"

"My father came to find me last night." Draco said in a defeated tone as he let himself fall on his bed.

Blaise looked worried as he looked around for any listeners. Once he was sure there was no one left in the room (he managed to scare everyone off) he went and sat on his bed, facing Draco.

"What happened?" Blaise said softly.

Draco was pulled from his trip down memory lane as he looked at Blaise. He shrugged. "He wanted to get me to work for Vold-" Draco broke off, took a deep breath and began again. "You know, what he usually wants."

"Yeah," Blaise nodded. He didn't want to push his friend, but he still wanted to know. "Then?" he prompted as he saw Draco begin to loose himself in his thoughts again.

Draco focused his gaze on Blaise's once more. "He thought I was using Hermione to get to Potter." Draco said softly with a faint smile on his lips. "Daddy was real proud." He added, that small smile turning into a mocking smirk.

Draco looked out the window as he gave another sigh. Blaise furrowed his brow, not knowing what to say next. Blaise looked at Draco and used the opportunity to try and make out what he was thinking.

There was a bitter look on Draco's face, but it was sort of faint, which lead Blaise to think that Draco wasn't thinking anything pleasant, but was just probably having an argument all by himself.

"What did you tell him?" Blaise asked softly, hoping his friend wouldn't feel too pushed and shut down as he usually did.

Draco rested his head against the headboard. "That he was under a false impression. He quickly came up with another reason though. He said that I was just having fun with Hermione. That kind of stung. Well, it wasn't that he thought I would use a girl, since my reputation doesn't exactly say I'm the most loving person. It stung when he compared me to himself. Now that, it felt as if I were diving into a dark lake, not knowing the depths of it."

Draco sounded distant again, as if he were talking to himself and not to Blaise. Blaise struggled to listen to every word his friend said, but he was having some trouble understanding everything. It seemed to Blaise that Draco wasn't making much sense, and he wondered if Draco was actually just talking to himself, and what Blaise got to hear were some random sentences from his whole inner dialogue.

"Why would you compare that to diving into a lake?" Blaise asked slowly. If he hadn't been worried before, he was now.

Draco shrugged slowly, as if he didn't have enough energy to lift his shoulders any higher or quicker, just enough so that the gesture would be noticeable. "It's like a helpless feeling. As if you know what you are doing, the basics, you know? You dive, and then you're in. But what you do from there, now that is the helpless part. What happens if the water is too shallow? What happens if it's too deep? So many variables, but the biggest problem is that you can't see a damn thing. Then a person comes and leads you, begins to tell you how to swim.

"But you feel like it's not right to swim like that. Then what? How do you let go of that hand leading you, when you still can't see much of anything. And then you realize that you can't see because you have your eyes closed. So you open them. You realize that you swim differently. But that person leading you still wants you to swim like he does, so he hold on to your hand tighter. How the hell do you get away?"

Blaise stared open mouthed at his friend. He sort of understood his monologue, but he had a feeling it went much deeper than the simple analogy he was using.

"Mate, you lost it."

Draco focused his gaze on Blaise again and smiled softly. "Sorry, didn't mean to dump all of that on you."

Blaise laughed lowly. "Yeah, well. What are friends for, right?"

Draco smiled wider. "Guess so."

"What happened after you said no?" Blaise asked.

Draco continued to tell Blaise the whole story, giving every detail he remembered. Once he was done, they both fell silent for a second. Soon enough Blaise broke the silence.

"So what are you going to tell Granger?"

"Why would I tell her anything?" Draco asked with an arched eyebrow.

Blaise shrugged. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because she might be in a lot of danger right now that your father knows you two are dating."

"As far as my father knows, I'm just having fun with Hermione. I just told him I refused to use her to get to Potter."

"Ohhh." Blaise said. "But you should still let Granger know."

Draco shook his head. "Hermione has enough things in mind already. It wouldn't help for mw to throw this into the mix as well."

"Then tell Dumbledore." Blaise suggested.

"Why do you want me to tell someone?" Draco asked.

Blaise stared at him with an expression one would use to question someone's sanity. "Draco, your father threatened you! I mean, we all know he has done that before, but not here in the castle. You know there are wards up, and those wards are there to protect students from any harm, especially Death Eaters, and well, what exactly is your father?" Blaise was now yelling.

"Keep your voice down, Zabini." Draco answered. With a quick movement he was standing up. "So my father threatened me, he always does that. he knows better than to attack me or Hermione here, he's just not that stupid."

"It would help if you told Dumbledore." Blaise muttered.

"Perhaps it would. But right now I don't want any more troubles. All I want right now is for my girlfriend to get better and pass all my damn classes." Draco said with an off-hand tone of voice.

Blaise smirked. "Right, we all know how much you care about your grades."

Draco smirked right back. "Of course I do. Even if Hermione is my girlfriend, I would still like to beat her in the final scores."

"You and your ego." Blaise said as he shook his head.

They both laughed together, and continued to talk for a bit. But neither brought the topic of Draco's father back.

0000

"And look who's here!" Ginny yelled as she saw Hermione approach their table in the great hall.

Hermione smiled at everyone on her table, and motioned for Ginny to be quiet. Some Gryffindors waved at her, others asked her if she was better. She waved back and answered every question with smile. Once Hermione was safely in her seat, Draco walked into the great hall.

Draco had met Hermione at the hospital wing, and walked her to the great hall for lunch. Madame Pomfrey had decided Hermione was well enough to go back to class, as long as someone accompanied her everywhere she went. Since Draco was the only one that knew about Hermione's release, he was the one who got to take her to the Great Hall.

However, they both decided it was best if they didn't go in together. So Draco watched Hermione from the door as she walked slowly to her seat. After he was sure she was comfortably seating, and all eyes were on her, he walked into the large room.

Hermione though Draco was exaggerating, taking care of her like that. While they walked to the Great Hall, Draco held Hermione's hand. And even though Hermione liked his hand in hers, she was sure Draco was holding her hand to help her walk rather than to just touch her. Draco didn't talk much either. Hermione suspected something was wrong, but she didn't look too much into it, since Draco just told her to be quiet so that she could keep her energy.

Hermione had just rolled her eyes but obliged, deciding it was quite nice walking next to him, hand in hand and in plain silence.

However, those were not the reasons why Draco decided to hold her hand and to keep her quiet. It had something to do with it, but it wasn't only that. Draco held her hand so that he could pull her quickly in case he needed to. He wanted her to be quiet so that he could pay closer attention to his surrounding, to be able to listen if someone was coming their way.

Despite the fact that Draco had told Blaise he wasn't worried, he was a bit paranoid. He wanted to keep Hermione safe at all cost, and that meant he had to spend even more time with her. He didn't mind that part, but he wondered if anyone would notice, and what would people say if they did happen to notice.

However, Draco didn't have to worry about people finding out, since it seemed that everyone was well informed. Apparently, when Draco helped Hermione when she fainted, the suspicion that something was going on between them invaded every single person in the castle.

There was one single person who was not happy with the way the news had traveled. And that person was none other than Lavender Brown. She felt as if someone had stolen from her. But she refused to loose against Hermione. So she decided to tell everyone that Hermione had personally told her it was true. That Draco Malfoy and her, Hermione Granger, were dating.

She even let everyone know that she had seen Hermione jumping out the window and onto Draco's broom. She also made up some evidence, stating that she had also seen Hermione sneaking out of her dorm at midnight, probably to meet Draco.

So while Hermione made her way to her table, all eyes were on her as mouths moved behind hands, whispering about her relationship with Draco Malfoy. Once Draco walked in, all eyes flickered to him, then back to Hermione and back to him again, looking for a glance between the two that would confirm all their suspicions.

Finally that glance came. As Draco walked past Hermione, she smiled slightly as their eyes met. He couldn't resist a smile of his own. So he gave her a faint one. It couldn't really be called a smile. But the significance of it was not lost on their audience. Everyone was sure there was something going on between the Slytherin Prince and the Gryffindor princess.

Draco was aware of the eyes that rested on him. He noticed that once he walked by someone, they would fall silent only to start their murmuring once he was past them. Draco sat slowly, keeping his gaze carefully away from Hermione.

"What the hell is going on?" Draco asked Blaise.

Blaise shrugged. "People are going on about you, as they usually are."

"Really, and what is it this time?" Draco asked as he filled his plate with food.

"Your latest conquest." Blaise said nonchalantly.

Draco's head snapped up, looked at Hermione for less than a second, and then looked at Blaise. "My what?" he asked.

"Some people think you are working side by side with Dumbledore, you know, to promote and support inter house unity."

Draco snorted. "Right. I'm all about treating the Hufflepuffs with respect, tolerance and equality." He resumed eating.

"Well maybe not with the Hufflepuffs, but yes with the Gryffindors."

"What?" Draco asked, his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Remember your secret relationship with Hermione?"

Draco nodded mutely.

"Well, it's not so secret anymore."

Draco's face became paler. He didn't want to eat anymore. He slowly lowered his fork down to his plate and sat it there. He then looked up and met Hermione's gaze. She had the same expression on her face. However, she seemed to read more in Draco's eyes, and her expression went from astonishment to pure worry.

_Now what? _Hermione thought.

**A/N**

**And there we go. Yes, it's a bit short, but you have no idea how much I suffered with it. I took a whole month! Wow. Hmm, I'll try not to take so long next time. **

**And yay! Two more chapters and this story is complete. Finally. XD. **

**So here are the replies to your reviews from the last two chapters. **

**Earthgoddess36 - **_Chapter 25 review/reply _ you have no clue how glad I am that you liked that chapter. When I finally got the chance to write it all out, the words just flowed, you know. So I was a bit worried that you wouldn't be able to follow everything I wrote. I'm glad you liked it and that you understood it! _Chapter 26 review/reply _I wish I could kill Lucius. Hmm. Maybe I will. Lol. But anyways, I hope this chapter explained a bit further why Lucius couldn't attack Draco in the castle. And the whole die three times thing I got it out of a book. I forgot to mention that. I read the book and that phrase just always stuck to me. And what I think it had to do with Draco is that maybe he just wonders that if he managed to forget his dad, it would in a way kill his father. I don't know, I need to think about that one a bit longer. I just liked it a lot. Lol. Thanks for the reviews!! And for reading of course.

**Hermone-Loves-Ron16311 – **_chapter 25 Review/reply _thanks for reading and for the review!! =]

**jessirose25 – **_Chapter 25 review/reply _yeah Hermione will be okay. I'm really happy you liked the whole interaction between Hermione and Blaise. I was a bit worried by it, but I'm glad it turned out well. =] thanks for the review!! Keep reading. =]

**Gryfferin Princess – **_Chapter 25__Review/reply _yeah, I loved that conversation a lot too. When my friend suggested it I wasn't very convinced. But when I though it over I really liked how nicely it fit both of them. So, so happy you liked this chapter!! And I agree, New Moon will be hard to portray in a movie, but it better be good. =] thanks for the review.

**HarryPotterFanGirlForever – **_Chapter 25 review/reply _well, he does have a big ego. But that's not the only reason why he is upset. Chapter 26 explained that, I hope. Keep reading and thanks for reviewing.

**Chibi-41 – **_Chapter 25 review/reply _I updated! Lol. Glad you like it so much.

**jaquelinedanvers – **_Chapter 25 review/reply _ I'm really sorry I killed Hermione's mom. But I just needed something big to happen you know. I found it was a nice twist. But yes! Draco and Hermione will work things out. _Chapter 26 review/reply _No! they will not break up. Hermione is in danger, but Draco will keep her closer instead of pushing her away. =]

**MajikOne – **_Chapter 26 review/reply _thank you! And yes! Keep reading =] =]

**Rebecca – **_Chapter 26 review/reply _Yup yup, I love it too! Lol. Poor Lucius. And Draco has a backbone!! Lol

**Charlotte-Cullen-x **– _Chapter 26 review/reply _I agree, they are a cute couple. I love it! lol. Thanks for the review. =]

**A/N**

**So there you go. Now that you have read, go and review. Please. Lol.**

**So, review?**

**Yours, **

**leilygurl**


	28. Story Telling

**A/N **

**Yup yup, I know it's hard to believe, but I actually updated on time!! Aren't you proud of me?? Lol. I just didn't want to keep you guys waiting that long. But I should warn you, this chapter might not seem as long as the other ones, and I guess it is a bit of a filler, but sort of important things happen, so it's not that bad. So, go read!! **

**Chapter 28 "Story Telling" **

Hermione waited outside the Potions classroom once class was over, waiting for Draco to come out.

He was avoiding her; she had no doubt about it. She knew there was something bothering him, something that was much bigger than the rumors and news about their relationship that were flying around the school faster than a Snitch does when its being chased.

She wanted to know what was going on. She was never the one to be kept from information; she was usually the first to know. Besides, Draco was her boyfriend, therefore, she had a right to ask what was going on with him that had him all jumpy and avoiding her.

About ten minutes later of Draco stalling inside the classroom asking professor Snape ridiculous questions such as if a Veritaserum potion had different effects on a woman than the ones it had on a man, Draco walked out of the classroom slowly, praying to every available saint for Hermione to be gone. Apparently, it wasn't his day at all, for Hermione jumped him right as he closed the door behind him.

He refrained from yelling like a little girl and running down the hall as if he had just seen the cookie monster eating his mother and looked blankly at Hermione. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"We need to speak." She said firmly.

Draco wondered if it would better to change his mind and start running and yelling, maybe that way Hermione would be frightened and would never come closer to him again. It could work.

"Draco." She called him, waving her hand in front of his eyes.

He instantly snapped to attention, vanishing all thoughts of running away and instead took a deep sigh, thinking it was better to get it all over with.

"Are you going to break up with me?" Draco asked her, deciding to stall while he figured out the best way to let her know what was going on.

She arched an eyebrow. It was evident she saw through his whole charade. "Just spit it out, Malfoy." She demanded.

"Malfoy?" he asked her, feeling a bit taken aback.

Hermione tilted her head to one side, letting Draco know they weren't alone. Snape was standing right behind him.

Draco quickly cleared his throat as he began to walk down the hallway. "Alright Granger, come on." He instructed.

Draco nodded once at Snape as he walked past him, Hermione trailing behind him. He didn't say a word and didn't stop walking until they were standing on the front door of the castle. Not even then did he speak, he continued to make his way down the steps until he came to a rather large tree that would keep the both of them out of anyone's view.

Once they were there, he turned quickly to face her, causing her to bump rather ungracefully into him.

"Oof!" Hermione tried to catch her balance.

"Sorry." Draco mumbled as he grabbed her by the waist to steady her.

"So what's up?" Hermione said as she took a step back from him.

Draco swallowed, thinking it was best to let her know already. He did need to explain why all of a sudden he was going to be practically following her every movement. He took a deep breath and began to speak.

"My father paid me a little visit." He said softly.

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. After a few second of silence, she spoke up. "And?" She pushed him along.

Draco sighed and began to tell her pretty much the same thing he had told Blaise. After he was done, Hermione was silently chewing on her bottom lip while she looked at the ground, trying to take everything in.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked him after she heard him clear his throat softly.

Draco's anxious expression erased from his face as he heard her speak. "Aren't you mad?" he asked incredulously.

Hermione looked up at him with confusion written all over her face. "Is there a reason why I should be?" she asked in return.

Draco shrugged. "I didn't tell you sooner." He answered.

Hermione waved it aside. "You had your reasons, although you should have told me the first time I asked." She said looking at him sternly.

He rolled his eyes. "I was too busy trying to come up with ways to keep you safe." He said in response.

Now it was Hermione's turn to cast her eyes upward. She placed her hands on her hips. "Two minds work better than one." She told him.

He smirked. "Not if those two minds belong to Wonder Boy and Weaselbee." He retorted.

Hermione smacked his arms. "Watch it." She warned darkly.

Draco laughed at her. "I'm serious."

"So am I." She answered as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Okay, okay." He answered. He placed both hand on either side of her hips and pulled her towards him. "I'll leave your mindless friends alone."

Hermione tried to pull away. "You're impossible." She told him.

"It's all part of the charm." He replied as he restrained her firmly in his arms. She could fight him all night, and he would still not let her go.

She seemed to notice this, for she stopped struggling to push him away. Instead she planted herself right where she was, refusing to be drawn to him. So he boldly stepped towards her, closing that small distance between them. She glared up at him and he smirked in return.

"What charm?" she asked icily.

He laughed at her. "The very one that made you fall in love with me."

"Yeah, yeah." Hermione answered as she looked away from his teasing glance.

He laughed again and gave her a small kiss on the tip of her nose. "Want to know why I fell in love with you?"

"Because I'm the only one that makes you work to get it?" she said turning back to him.

He snorted. "Not really, no." he said huskily.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat. It took all her effort to look away from his enchanting eyes. "You still haven't answered my question." She muttered as she safely kept her gaze away from his eyes.

He smirked as he held her closer. He loved it when he got her all flustered like that. He found it rather intriguing and simply cute. "What question, love?" he said softly.

Hermione was extremely aware of Draco's body so close to hers, but she was also aware that Draco was probably doing it to distract her. She couldn't really know, so she had to watch out.

"What do you plan to do about your father?" She asked him, managing to keep her face straight and with no sign of her awareness of him.

Draco was pulled back to the matter at hand. He shrugged. "Blaise suggested for me to tell Dumbledore." He told her, deliberately leaving out the part where he refused to acknowledge Blaise's idea to tell both Dumbledore and Hermione.

"That's a great idea." Hermione replied.

Draco cringed at her reaction. Hermione seemed to notice. "What is it?" she asked him.

"I would rather not make this any bigger. It would only complicate things." He answered her hesitantly.

Hermione thought about that for a minute. Then she looked up at him once again. "I don't think so. I mean, it would make things bigger, and maybe much more complicated, but not in a bad way. If anything, it's your source of protection."

He shook his head. "Think about it, Hermione. My father doesn't think I'm serious about you. He's just mad that I refused to carry out his orders. But that's too bad. He can't do anything to me while I'm here-"

"But what about when you go home?" Hermione interrupted him.

Draco opened his mouth to answer but closed it after he realized he didn't have a reply to that. Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. "He still can't do anything, for he knows I have to come back." He said quietly, not knowing if he sounded convincing or not.

Hermione didn't buy it. "Don't give me that, Draco."

"It's true!" Draco argued.

Hermione huffed. "Stop it. You have to tell Dumbledore and you know it. Besides, what will happen when your father finds out that our relationship is serious… I mean, if it is of course…I didn't mean to-"

Draco interrupted her with a soft laugh. "It is serious. I love you Hermione, you know that. So don't worry about that. But we only have to wait until I turn eighteen, according to Malfoy Law, that's when I can leave home."

"But Draco, The whole school already knows about us. There's no way we can continue with our relationship in secret. Not while Lavender is distributing all those rumors about us."

Draco thought about that for a second. "Who cares? Like I was saying before you interrupted me, my father doesn't think I'm serious about you. He thinks you're just another girl. So we'll keep a low profile, not giving too many public displays of affection," He winked at her. "And that's it."

"But won't he get suspicious when he sees that you are still not through with me by the time we are out of school? Not to mention that the war is close. What will happen then?" Hermione was ranting with a very paranoid voice.

"Shh." Draco silenced her in an attempt to soothe her. He caressed her cheek softly until he saw her melt little by little into his hand. "We will cross those bridges when we have to. Right now it would be a waste of time to think about all those things." He told her softly.

Hermione took a deep breath and visibly relaxed. "Yeah, you're right. But I do think you should at least let Dumbledore know what's going on." She pressed on.

Draco sighed in defeat, knowing that there was no way she would stop pressing him about the issue until he did as he was told. So he smiled at her and agreed to do as she wished. Hermione smiled brightly at him and stood on her toes to kiss him softly on the lips. He smiled into her lips before he took control of the kiss.

Draco knew that to have Hermione he had to do a lot of sacrifices. That he would actually have to work for her, as she so kindly put it. In his mind he smirked, thinking that everything he had to do for the girl was totally worth it.

0000

Hermione and Draco made their way up to the headmaster's office, pointedly ignoring all the gazes that fell curiously upon them. They just walked side by side, with no contact between the two. This confused some of the people that happened to see them pass by. They were obviously having trouble deciding if they should believe the stories going around or not.

Draco ran a hand through his thick hair. There was literally nothing in his mind, he was way too anxious to even bother coming up with full coherent thoughts. However, Hermione was the opposite of him. Millions and millions of thoughts crossed her mind, each showing her different alternatives with different outcomes. But she still had a hard time concentrating on them, since she was so aware of all the eyes that followed her.

She couldn't decide if it was better for people to know about her and Draco, even if it was to a minimal extent, or for them to be oblivious to it all. Part of her felt relieved that people already knew. In a way it made things easier for her, at least she didn't have to be the one to tell people. But part of her also dreaded the reaction her and Draco's relationship would provoke from everyone around her.

She knew it was none of their business, and even if it was odd for a relationship to spark between a Slytherin and Gryffindor, a Pureblood and a Mudblood, a Malfoy and, well, Hermione, it was still sort of normal. It wasn't that big of a deal, and Hermione found herself getting annoyed at every single person that followed her with their glances.

It was a free world, for Merlin's sake! She was free to date whomever she wanted, and if the world could not accept that, well then it was pretty much their problem. The whole traditional thing was very, very overrated and rather stupid to begin with. Times had changed, and maybe it was Hermione's and Draco's duty to set the example and lead the Magical World, and any other world for that matter, into to a new and much more modern time.

Hermione smiled to herself, thinking of how ridiculous her own little speech sounded. She looked at Draco from the corner of her eye. Draco's face was perfectly schooled, no emotions were showing. Hermione had to give him credit for his ability to keep a straight and blank face when any emotion could so easily betray him.

However, Hermione happened to know Draco a bit better than any bystander, so it was quite easy for her to see through his perfectly composed façade and read the anxiety in his eyes.

Draco felt her gaze on him, and he quickly turned to look questionably at her. Hermione slightly shook her head and returned to looking straight ahead. She could see that they were coming closer to their destination.

Classes were over for the day, and it was almost time for dinner. Every student was making their way to the Great Hall. Hermione took a deep breath once they arrived to the statue guarding the old Wizard's office. Hermione was about to say the password she was given when Dumbledore had summoned her to his office to let her know about her mother, but before she had a chance to voice any words, the statue began to move.

Draco looked at Hermione and quickly pulled her onto the steps. Hermione tried hard to keep away from her memory, but she was failing miserably. Draco noticed this when she began to nervously chew on her bottom lip. He took her hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Hermione smiled tentatively at him, not trusting her voice. He smiled reassuringly back before they faced the door. Draco was about to knock, but Dumbledore suddenly appeared in front of them with the door open. It seemed as if he were expecting them.

"Come in, children." He told them as he moved aside to let the through.

Draco pulled Hermione into the office.

"I was wondering when you would come to see me," He continued as he shut the door closed behind him and made his way to his chair behind his desk. "Do sit down." He invited them.

Hermione quickly sat. "You knew we were coming?" she asked him.

"I was hoping you would." He corrected her.

"So you know what's going on?" Draco asked.

"That I do." Dumbledore answered.

Hermione was surprised, it had been the first time she heard Dumbledore answer a question straightforward.

"Your father came to visit you, yes?" Dumbledore asked Draco.

Draco nodded.

"Of course," The professor mumbled to himself.

The old wizard asked Draco if he could tell him exactly what had happened that night. Draco wondered if the old wizard didn't already know, but he retold his story either way. Once he was done, Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully at him.

"Well, first of all, congratulations for your relationship." He said smiling at Hermione, causing her to blush, but she smiled back either way. "And, about the matter at hand, the school security will increase, every morning both of you will be charmed against several means of harms by either Minerva or myself, and I do wish for the two of you to stay as close as possible."

"Well, that will be a bit hard, professor, what with us being in different houses and all.' Draco began.

"Yes, that truly is an inconvenient. However, it would be rather useless to isolate the tow of you in a new room. So I would suggest that one of you go and stay at the other's House. However, I do think Slytherin would not be quite so safe for Miss Granger here, so I would prefer for you Draco, to go and stay at the Gryffindor House." Dumbledore concluded.

Draco snorted. "Yeah, right." He said.

Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. Draco's laughter was cut short. "Oh come on, Hermione. It's _Gryffindor_, meaning it's full of Gryffindor people."

"Wonderful observation, Draco." She said sarcastically.

Draco made a face at her. "You do realize half of Gryffindor hates me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous Draco. The whole Gryffindor House hates you, with the exception of myself, of course." She said as she looked at her nails.

"Gee, that's so much better." Draco replied.

Hermione smiled cheekily at him. "Anytime, _love_." She said, making an imitation of his voice.

Draco turned to look at Dumbledore, who was just looking at both students with a weird smile on his face. "What makes you think I would be safe in Gryffindor?" Draco asked.

"Because we are not cold hearted murderers." Hermione answered darkly.

Draco turned to glare at her. "I was asking him." he said icily as he jabbed his thumb in Dumbledore's direction.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Relax, will you. You will not be attacked by any Gryffindor, I swear. And if anyone tries to, I'll protect you." Hermione said with a smirk and a wink.

"And you think I can't protect you in Slytherin?" Draco asked her.

"No. no. I would never doubt your ability to protect me," she said.

"Then why can't you stay in Slytherin?" he asked.

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "Are you crazy? I bet that if I set foot in that house I will probably be thrown out instantly!"

Draco stared at her. "Now who is being ridiculous?" Draco asked her.

"No, no. She is actually correct." Dumbledore interrupted. "I wasn't worried about the Slytherins, but the location itself."

Draco stared at the professor in disbelief. "So thanks to Salazar Slytherin and his stupid anti-mudblood spells I will painfully die in Gryffindor territory!" Draco yelled.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How childish can you get?" she asked him.

Draco looked at her darkly. Hermione laughed at him. "Come on Draco, it won't be that bad. Do it for me. Think of it as your way of protecting me."

Draco stared at her, deciding that using her explanation was a very nice way of keeping his dignity. "Oh, alright. But I swear that if any Gryffindor dares to trespass my personal bubble, which reaches quite a distance, I will not hesitate to use any object that I find closer to me."

Hermione laughed. "Deal."

**A/N **

**So thank you so much for reading, and especial thanks to those who reviewed. [[ **Rebecca, earthgoddess36, MajikOne, Kat.1600, Hermone-Loves-Ron16311, jessirose85 and Gryfferin Princess.**]] you have no idea how much it means to me. =]**

**But sadly, I don't have much time to answer each review individually, so I'll just try to answer all of them in this next paragraph. XD**

**So yes, Lavender does play a big part with this story, but sadly it's not so important, but you know what they say, every single character is crucial to the plot, or else they wouldn't exist. I do think maybe Draco and Hermione should have been more careful about their relationship, but everything had to get out, right? Plus it got totally ruined for Lavender. I do think there will be an encounter between Hermione and Lavender soon. Which reminds me, I know I said this story would end at chapter 30, and if I can finish it by then, then I will, but if I cant, I will give myself more space, so I'm not sure when this fic will end. So yes, they are in danger, but I don't think anyone will get hurt. But I'm really glad you guys liked it so much, and I hope you like this chapter as well.**

**So,**

**Review?**

**Yours,**

**leilygurl**


	29. Night Shirts and Swollen Lips

**A/N  
****Thank you so much, to those of you who reviewed. Although I do have to admit that I'm a bit sad, for I only received three reviews. But still, here is chapter 29. **

**Chapter 29 "Night shirts and Swollen lips"**

"Are you sure I won't get eaten?" Draco whispered dramatically.

They were standing outside the portrait that guarded the Gryffindor House. Once Dumbledore had dismissed them, they had made their way down to the kitchens to eat something. Time had passed quickly and without their notice. Before they knew it, it was past midnight.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she turned around to say the password needed in order to be able to enter the Gryffindor Common Room. "What do you think we are, savages?" Hermione said back.

Draco stopped in his tracks, when Hermione didn't feel him behind her anymore she turned to look at him with an arched eyebrow.

"Have you met Weasley?" Draco asked her with a serious face.

Hermione was about to roll her eyes, but made a disgusted face. "Oh please. Even if we were cannibals, we wouldn't eat some slimy Slytherin." She said in response.

"Maybe not an ordinary Slytherin, but studies have revealed that _this _Slytherin in particular is very tasty."

"Yeah, I'm sure." She mumbled as she turned back to the portrait, which swung aside, granting her entrance. "Now quit making so much noise-"

"Miss Granger!" Hermione was interrupted by a female voice calling from behind them.

Both Hermione and Draco turned around and McGonagall walking quickly towards the.

"Professor?" Hermione said. "What is it?"

Once the old witch caught up to them, she answered Hermione's question. "I thought it would be better if I were the one to let the Gryffindors know what is going on."

Draco turned to look at Hermione. "At least someone is concerned about my safety."

Hermione resisted the urge to stick her tongue at him like a five year old child and decided to look away from him instead. "Do you think they will react badly?" Hermione asked the professor.

McGonagall frowned. "I'm not sure, but keeping in mind Mr. Malfoy's reputation, and the ever going rivalry Gryffindors and Slytherins keep, I'm not willing to take any risks. Besides, Dumbledore and I had originally planned for Draco to stay in the boys' dormitories, but Dumbledore has decided to make an extra room inside the tower where Draco can stay."

"I won't have to sleep in the old Gryffindor boys' room?!" Draco all but yelled as he began to jump in circles around Hermione.

McGonagall eyed him warily. Hermione wrinkled her nose. "His mother dropped him when he was a baby." Hermione told the old witch. Draco stopped jumping and glared at Hermione.

"I bet you would have jumped as well if you had found out you didn't have to sleep in the same room as Pansy." He pointed out.

Hermione shrugged. "Perhaps, but I would have waited until I was alone so that I couldn't make a fool of myself." She answered right back.

Draco stuck his tongue out at her. Hermione smiled cheekily at him. Draco was about to say something, but McGonagall interrupted him.

"Children, it's late, and you wouldn't want to wake up all the students in the tower." She said as she made her way into the common room.

Hermione trailed behind her, followed by Draco. "I get my own room, I get my own room." Draco quietly chanted in her ear.

Hermione laughed quietly. "You sound so immature." She told him. Hermione looked around her common room. It was a bit cold, since the fire in the chimney that was usually on wasn't burning at the time. The room was faintly lit by a few candles that were shining here and there. Luckily enough, there weren't any students around.

Draco instantly stopped his chant, stood straight and adopted a serious face. He looked at her with no expression whatsoever. "Is that better?" He asked her in a deeper voice.

Hermione arched an eyebrow. She leaned in closer to him. "I like that voice." She whispered.

Draco smirked, and despite herself, Hermione blushed, but returned his smile either way. "You're cute when you blush." He told her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to McGonagall, who made her way towards the stairs leading up to the boys' dormitories; however, she didn't climb the stairs. She stopped in front of them and took a couple of steps to the right. She smiled at the small portrait that was hung right in front of her.

Hermione looked curiously at her Head of the House and walked towards her, wondering what she was smiling at. Once Hermione reached McGonagall's side, she could see that there was a lion in the portrait.

The lion bowed his head to Hermione in greeting. Hermione gave a small smile in return. The lion was sitting on what appeared to be a large boulder in the middle of a large field of tall grass. It was night on the portrait, and the stars shone brightly above the lion's head.

"Compassion." McGonagall said to the lion.

The lion bowed its head once more, and right next to the small portrait the outline of a door began to appear.

Hermione gasped and heard Draco's sharp intake of a breath behind her. McGonagall gave them a small smile as the door appeared completely. The old witch reached for the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

"Well, this is where I leave you. The word I said was, of course, the password. Tomorrow morning, if any Gryffindor sees you and asks what you are doing here, tell them to come and speak to me. Please, please don't start any fights. I will speak to all my Gryffindor students tomorrow in class. Make sure no one else knows about this. If any Slytherin asks you, Mr. Malfoy, where you are staying, do find a way to evade them. As I said before, no one can know about your stay here. Understood?" The professor looked at them sternly.

Hermione nodded quickly. "Yes." Draco said out loud.

"Alright. Goodnight." She said before she turned around and left both Draco and Hermione standing outside Draco's room.

They looked at each other before Draco turned to walk into the room, Hermione right behind him. The room was neither large nor small. Actually, it seemed large to Hermione, while it reminded Draco of his closet back home. However, that didn't make the room any less nicer. There was a bed against the wall facing the door, with two nightstands on either side. To their right, there was a large window with a desk in front of it. To their left there were two small sofas next to a brown door and a small table in the middle.

Hermione walked to the door next to the sofas and opened it to find a bathroom. She turned to look at Draco. "Well this in nice. You get your room and your own bathroom."

Draco smirked. "Yeah. Lucky me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm going to bed. I'll see you tomorrow morning." She said as she made her way towards the door.

"Wait," Draco called. "Won't you tuck me in?" He asked with a teasing smile.

Hermione turned to face him completely and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Do you want me to sing you to sleep as well?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I prefer a bedtime story." Draco answered.

Hermione laughed. "Goodnight, Draco."

"Stay." Draco told her before she could turn around. "Spend the night."

Hermione smiled teasingly at him after a minute or two had passed. "Scared?" she asked.

Draco laughed. "If I say yes, would you stay?" he asked in return.

"Do you answer a question with another of your own?" Hermione asked.

"Don't you?" He said in response.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Alright, I'll just go and get my things."

"But what if someone sees you?" Draco asked her.

Hermione stopped walking. "Oh, right."

"You know, I wouldn't mind if you slept only in your underclothes." Draco said as he waggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"I'm sure you wouldn't, but I would." Hermione said darkly in return.

Draco laughed at her expression. "I'll let you borrow a shirt." He told her.

Hermione blushed. "I'll just go quietly." She answered.

Draco smirked and shrugged. "Have it your way then."

Hermione walked out the room and was just about to go towards the stairs when she heard someone at the top of the boys' stairwell. She started, then reacted an walked quickly back to Draco's room and shut the door quietly behind her, then leaned against it.

Draco stared at her. "What?" he asked.

"I heard someone." Hermione answered.

Draco pulled a large white t-shirt from his bed and threw it at her. "For you." He said as he made his way towards the bathroom.

Hermione looked at the shirt in her hands and sighed. She glanced to her left to make sure the bathroom door was closed. Then she quickly removed her robes, unbuttoned her school blouse, took it off and pulled Draco's shirt over her head.

She blushed as she noticed that the shirt didn't reach her knees, the hem resting about four inches above them; it was shorter than her skirt. She then quickly pulled her skirt off and folded it along with the rest of her clothes and sat them on one of the sofas.

She was in the process of pulling her shoes off when Draco called to her from the bathroom. She looked behind her to find him standing at the door with his eyes shut tightly. She smiled at the sight.

"Can I open my eyes?" he asked her.

Hermione laughed. "Yes Draco you can." She answered, and just when he did open his eyes, Hermione noticed what he was wearing, or rather, what he was _not_ wearing. He had long shorts on, loose ones that came down to his knees. And nothing more. Hermione had seen him without a shirt before, but back then she was not allowed to look. Right now, well she stared.

Draco smirked. "You're stealing my vitality, Granger."

Hermione pulled her gaze away from his perfect torso and looked into his eyes, arching an eyebrow. "Granger?" she asked.

Draco shrugged. "I just thought that sentence sounded better if I used your last name rather than your first.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she pulled her socks off. "You and your ego."

Draco laughed and walked to the bed, sitting on it. "Charming, I know."

"You're so full of it." she told him in response.

Draco just smiled and patted the bed, motioning for Hermione to sit besides him. Hermione blushed again but recovered quickly.

"I pick the left side to sleep." She said as she began to walk towards the bed.

"What if I want the left side?" Draco asked.

"Well then, that's too bad." She answered as she laid on the left side of the bed. Draco looked at her over his shoulder and smiled.

Hermione looked at him and stuck her tongue out. Draco laughed. "What would your friends say if they knew you are sleeping on my bed?" Draco asked as he laid next to her.

Hermione sighed and looked up at the ceiling as she pretended to think about that for a second. "I don't know." She answered as she returned her gaze to him.

Draco smiled as he moved closer. Hermione held her breath as Draco lowered his mouth closer to hers, never moving his eyes away from hers. When their lips met, both of them closed their eyes. Hermione put her arms around his neck as he moved closer to her and wrapped his own arms around her waist.

Soon enough Draco was laying o top of her, his arms resting on either side of her, propping him up. Hermione's hands were on his waist, pulling him closer to her, her nails digging into his soft skin, but he failed to notice this. He was too busy kissing the girl beneath him like there was no tomorrow.

Draco pulled his head back, allowing them to breath. Hermione tried to breathe normally, but it was hard. He smiled at her and Hermione returned the smile.

"I definitely don't know what they would say if they knew what I was doing on your bed." Hermione muttered breathlessly.

Draco chuckled as he once again lowered his lips to hers.

0000

"Hermione, 'Mione. Wake up." Draco said softly as he gently shook Hermione awake.

Hermione slowly opened her eyes. "What time is it?" She asked him.

Draco shrugged. "I think everyone left for breakfast." He answered.

Hermione sat up straight. "We are going to be late!"

"Whoa, slow down." Draco told her. "It's not that late."

Hermione turned to glare at him and was just about to say something, but he beat her to it.

"Your hair looks funny." He told her.

Hermione's cheeks turned a deep shade of red as she tried to smooth her hair. Draco pushed her hands aside.

"It's not helping." He explained. "Besides, you look cute." He told her with that smile of his.

Hermione only turned redder. "I should go and get ready." She mumbled as she climbed off the bed while at the same time making sure her shirt didn't rise and higher.

She went straight to the door, Draco behind her. She grabbed her uniform along the way and walked out the door. She was looking at her uniform, making sure she had grabbed everything that she didn't see where she was going. She found out when she bumped into something, or rather, into someone.

She looked up at the same time the person turned around to face her. Emerald green eyes stared down at her from behind glasses. "Hermione?" Harry asked her, his eyes going wide.

"What are you doing?" Ginny asked from behind Harry.

"What is Draco doing here?" Harry asked.

"More importantly, what are you doing with him, wearing _that_ and for Merlin's sake, why are your lips so swollen?!" Ron all but yelled as he came to stand next to his sister.

"Uh, uh." Draco muttered from behind Hermione.

"That's an understatement." Hermione mumbled as she tried to look for an explanation.

"Oh My God." Lavender added from the stairs.

**A/N  
****And I'll stop it right there. It was kind of hard, writing this chapter, and I know that not many things happen, but hey, we saw a lot of Hermione and Draco.  
****So tell me what you thought, alright.  
****I want to thank the people that reviewed. [[ **earthgoddess36, Gryfferin Princess, memememe** ]] you guys are the best. **

**I'm glad you guys liked it. **

**=]**

**So,**

**Review?**

**Yours,  
****leilygurl**


	30. Cards on the Table

**A/N**

**This chapter goes dedicated to soumz13, for the lovely review filled with compliments both to my style of writing and the developing of the story. Thank you so much, to have read that you truly think this is the best story you've read is wonderfully pleasant and oh dear, I think I'm crying. ;) thanks for reading. **

**And for the rest of my lovely readers:**

**Chapter 30 "Cards on the Table"**

Hermione groaned as she saw Lavender and her gloating expression. She sighed and looked back at her friends, who were obviously still waiting for her explanation. Luckily enough, Draco came to her aid.

"McGonagall said to tell you that if you have any questions, you should let her know." Draco told them.

Neither of her friends looked away from her, not even as Draco spoke. Maybe it had something to do with the swollen lips, and the very fashionable shirt she was wearing, maybe it was her wild hair, or the fact that she had slept in Draco Malfoy's bed or maybe it was all of the above. Who knew? But Hermione didn't like the looks she was receiving.

Also, she noticed that Lavender wasn't saying anything else. She looked up, to find that Lavender had descended the stairs and was walking rather quickly towards the portrait hole. Hermione had the feeling she wasn't in such a hurry to speak to McGonagall.

"Draco," she called.

Draco understood perfectly well once he saw where Hermione's gaze was set. He quickly pulled his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Lavender. Harry, Ron and Ginny turned at the same time to find Lavender rooted to the floor, quite literally. There were vine-like plants holding her feet flat against the ground despite her attempts at kicking them off.

Hermione turned to look at Draco and arched an eyebrow. "Couldn't you just have stunned her?" she asked.

Draco shrugged as he twirled the wand between his fingers. "I acted faster than you did." He pointed out.

Hermione shook her head and looked away from him as she pulled her own wand and let Lavender loose. Lavender jumped right on one of the chairs closer to her and looked at Hermione with horrified eyes, but she quickly recovered and glared at her.

Hermione walked up to her. "Listen," She began. "I honestly don't know what you have against me, if it _is_ something against me or it's just your need to go gossiping around, but you have to leave me the hell alone. I have enough problems without adding your stupid rumors to the mix."

Lavender stared at Hermione, her mouth forming a thin line. After a minute or two of Hermione staring up and Lavender glaring down, LavLav finally answered. "My rumors don't seem so far off the mark now, do they?" She asked as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't care if they are rumors or the honest to God truth, I want them to stop."

Lavender stepped down from the chair and walked confidently over to Hermione, getting quite close. Hermione was suddenly aware that she was still in Draco's white sort of see through and not so long shirt, but she refused to be intimidated.

"And what will you do to make them stop?" Lavender challenged.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You don't want to mess with me." She responded darkly.

To her surprise, Lavender laughed. "You don't scare me, Hermione Granger. I honestly can't see the reason why someone would look at you twice, let alone Draco Malfoy. But there's more to it than that. You take advantage of Harry's fame, appearing as the very honest best friend, straight _A_ student, goody two shoes, teacher's pet, all in all the perfect witch. But we all know how you truly are."

"Oh? And how's that?' Hermione asked, a dangerous tone on her voice.

"As a stuck up, fake, little bitch." Lavender answered.

Hermione could feel her cheeks growing red with anger. She arched an eyebrow in response, but other than that, she gave no sign that she would object at that moment to whatever accusations she might receive from Lavender. She was simply waiting to hear them all out.

However, Lavender didn't seem as if she would elaborate or explain any of her accusations. Hermione grew very impatient.

"What exactly, dear Lavender, do you hold against me?" Hermione asked dryly.

Lavender smirked. "Well _dear_," Lavender began, making a very good imitation of the way Hermione had spoken to her. "I'm sure you have figured out that you aren't very well liked all around the castle, it's not just me the one who _'holds'_ something against you, I am, however, the first to let you know, I suppose."

Hermione glared at the girl in front of her. "Well, then, I suppose I do admire your honesty, and what's more, I thank you for it. However, I have to admit I stand a bit confused, for as far as I knew, you and I held, if not a friendship, at least a respectful relationship. I can see now that I was mistaken. But I would like to use a bit more of your very willing honesty, for you have yet to answer my question. What did I ever do to you?"

Lavender shrugged and tapped her index finger against her lips gently, her eyebrow furrowed in thought. She than sighed and looked at Hermione straight in the eye as she pulled her finger away form her face and down to meet her other hand, clasping them together in front of her.

"I'm not sure it's something specific, I just don't like you." Lavender said bluntly and somewhat bitterly, letting Hermione know that there was far more than her simple explanation. "Like I said before, this should not come as a surprise to you, for I'm sure you have heard it before many times. You walk around as if you owned the place, which you of course, do not. You believe you are better than all of us, what with your _amazing _abilities and such. But I supposed there's nothing wrong with being gifted, it's the way you have handled it that gets on everyone's nerves. Far from being admired, you are very well disliked." Lavender finished.

Hermione stared at Lavender for more than a second. Draco was leaning against the wall, watching Hermione intently. He knew that even if it was stupid to do so, it was quite easy to take offense at Lavender's not so kind words. He knew Hermione knew better than that, but he was actually worried, knowing her temper and those amazing abilities Lavender had mentioned before, it would be quite easy to put the Brown girl in her place, but he feared it wouldn't be the smart thing to do.

To everyone's surprise, Hermione smirked. "Well then, thank you, that's all I needed to know. Lucky for me, I'm one of those people who don't really care what others think or say about me, not unless it's coming from the people I do care about, meaning my friends, you might not be familiar with the term, so I don't expect you to understand. So once again, I thank you for your honesty. But other than that, I have nothing else to say to you. Now, McGonagall left instructions, which you are expected to follow. So do make your way to her office, Ronald here will escort you." Hermione finished, gave one final smile at the image of Lavender standing there with her mouth opened and proceeded to climb the stair to her dorm to get ready for class.

Half way up the stairs she turned around to see if her orders had been carried out, but she found everyone with pretty much the same expression on their faces, staring up at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Ron, take her to McGonagall's office. Draco, get ready for class and Ginny go and make out with Harry somewhere, I don't really care, just go." She said and finally made it to her room, feeling quite happy with herself.

0000

That morning, McGonagall had called for an assembly, asking every Gryffindor student to attend. Thankfully, only Lavender and Hermione's closest friends were aware of the situation, but since it was rather unlikely for any of Hermione's friends, meaning, Harry, Ron and Ginny, to talk about what was going on, McGonagall used a spell on Lavender, which was to make her keep her mouth shut, in the figurative sense of course, much to Hermione's dismay.

Surprisingly enough, the assembly was not what Hermione expected. Well, she wasn't really sure what she had expected, but certainly it wasn't what she heard. McGonagall did not speak about Draco staying in the Gryffindor Tower. Instead, she talked about the upcoming Finals, and if any student needed tutorial, even though they were still a good time away from doing the exams, it didn't hurt to study and be prepared.

About half an hour later of McGonagall announcing that, and putting out the list for people to sign up, the students were all on their way to their first class.

Hermione waited for the room to empty, and then she made her way up to the professor. She cleared her throat slightly to call for the old witch's attention, for she was truly engaged in reading the names on her list.

"Professor?" Hermione began.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked.

"Well, I was wondering, were you not going to let everyone know about what is going on, I mean, about Draco staying in the tower?"

McGonagall smiled slightly. "I was, but then I thought better about it. It would be rather useless, and it would call for too many questions."

"But what would happen if any of them see Draco?" Hermione asked a bit impatiently.

"Look over at the door, Miss Granger," The professor indicated.

Hermione arched an eyebrow and looked over at the door, confusion clearly showing all over her face. "Yes?" she asked, the impatience coloring her voice once again.

"Can you see that silver light coloring slightly the frame of the door?" McGonagall asked her.

Hermione squinted, and sure enough, she saw the strange light. "Yeah," She answered uncertainly.

"Well that, Miss Granger, is a spell, an enchantment, if you will. I placed it there, so that it would be placed on every person who walked through the door, including yourself. That spell prevents you from speaking to anyone about Draco if you saw him in the Tower. Even now, if you tried to talk to anyone outside the Gryffindor House about it, you wouldn't be able to. Except me of course. Besides, it's pretty much a confusion spell. If anyone saw Draco, it would seem pretty normal."

"Oh" Hermione answered, her eyebrow furrowed in concentration.

"Anymore questions, Miss Granger?"

"No." She answered.

"Then I suggest you get to class, or you will be late."

"Of course." Hermione answered and made her way to class.

0000

The day carried on uneventfully enough. Lavender was not allowed to speak about anything regarding Draco Malfoy, but that didn't stop her from glaring daggers at Hermione every time the two crossed paths.

Draco found this rather amusing, for he had come up with the idea that maybe Lavender had a thing for him. He told Hermione about his sudden conclusion, but apparently Hermione didn't find it as hilariously fun as he did. She took it like any normal teenage girl would, angrily and threatening.

Hermione hated to admit it, but what Draco had told her made much sense, which resulted in her acting the way she did. Draco however, was just having a grand time watching his girlfriend who was showing herself possessive of him, blinded by her jealousy.

So he decided to reassure her that she was his one and only by surprising her during the fifteen minutes they got between classes. So while Hermione was making her way to her class, Draco, who was hiding in an empty classroom, grabbed her quickly and pulled her into the room, pressing her back against his chest.

Although Draco's intention was to surprise her, Hermione rather felt like she was having a mild heart attack. She tried to figure out who had intended to scare her out of her skin while wondering why Harry and Ron were not pounding at the door and coming to her rescue before she recognized the scent of the person holding her captive. And even though she wasn't scared anymore, she still wondered why her so called best friends where not coming to her aid if they had been walking right next to her.

And then she remembered they were chatting rather excitedly about the next professional Quidditch game, or something of the sort, she couldn't quite recall, she had tuned them out and only remembered it was an extremely boring guy topic.

0000

"-Which is why we have to bet on it!" Harry concluded his observation.

"Maybe you're right, but I'm still not sure, I mean, why would we trust a Slytherin to hold the bets, no offense Hermione," Ron answered.

When he didn't hear Hermione's forgiving, or angry reply, he looked over to where she had been walking next to him. When he didn't see her there, he stopped short.

Harry walked a few more steps before he too stopped.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked.

Harry looked at Ron, his eyebrow furrowed as he thought. But his expression quickly cleared as he shrugged. "Maybe she forgot something in the classroom and went back to get it."

Ron's lips were pursed as he thought about it, then he too shrugged. "Right. But anyways, I don't think we should let Adrian Pucey…"

The two boys continued their conversation, the topic of a missing Hermione stored deeply at the back of their minds. With friends like that, who needed… non caring people in the world?

0000

Hermione found herself relieved that her friends did not come to her rescue, not that she needed any rescuing. She was alright, more then alright, actually. The ache she was feeling in her lungs due to oxygen depravation wasn't necessarily a bad thing, at least not at the moment; she was pretty much enjoying it.

Draco pulled back, breaking their 'I assure you I love you and only you, so quit being silly' kiss, leaned his forehead against Hermione's and smiled down at the flushed girl.

"Did that convince you?" Draco asked huskily, his usual smirk in place.

Hermione fake glared up at him. "If you think that a kiss and some words will convince me…"

She however, could not finish her sentence, since Draco had once again pressed his lips against hers. It was a shame really, considering her comeback was rather witty. Wit did not just grow on trees, you know.

But Hermione could care less at the moment. All she cared was about his hands, tracing rather tantalizing circles on the middle of her back as he deepened the kiss with each passing second, and drew her closer to him with each stroke of his tongue against hers.

Hermione moaned softly against his lips as she felt her legs growing weaker and weaker, until she was sure she would fall. But he kept her standing. How he managed to due that, was beyond Hermione. But she was thankful for his arms, and his hair, in which her fingers were tangled at the moment, and his intoxicating smell, and his muscular, gorgeous body, and his lips, Merlin his lips.

Draco groaned slightly as he fought to keep himself and Hermione in a standing position. He tried to recall how close the wall was, or if there was a desk close by where he could, well, prop against so that he didn't waste so much energy in trying to stand, since said energy could be put to a better task.

But just as he was walking Hermione blindly backwards, the first bell rang. He could care less about the damn bell, but Hermione, being the little bookworm she was, quickly pulled her lips from his.

"We should go," Hermione said slowly, as if she was trying to remember how to exactly pronounce the words. She looked up at him from half closed eyes as she fought to steady her breathing.

Draco stared down at her, and smiled brightly. "Now, are you sure?" He asked her in a low voice as he neared his lips to hers again, teasing her. He looked at her lips for a second before looking into her eyes again, that playful flirty grin still about his lips.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat, which she was already short in, as it was. But she smiled up at him either way, and neared her own lips closer to his, deciding to play his little game.

She got closer and closer, all the while staring at his lips, and just when she was less, much less than an inch away, she smiled and looked into his eyes before pulling away.

"I'm sure." She answered.

Draco was still a bit dumbfounded, but he recovered quickly. He smirked at her. "For Merlin's sake Hermione, you sure know how to drive a guy crazy." Draco muttered.

Hermione gave him her own smirk in return, one that clearly challenged his own. "It's a class all the girls had, How to Tease a Slytherin Boy 'till He Wants to Snog You Silly." Hermione shrugged as if it was another charms lesson, which in literal sense, it was.

"Is that so?" He asked her, his eyebrow arched.

Hermione nodded. "You're the fourth Slytherin this week." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Wait a minute, but your lesson says _a_ Slytherin boy, not _many _Slytherin boy_s._" Draco countered back.

Hermione shrugged. "Yeah, well, we work with what we have."

"Well, would you look at that. My Gryffindor sweetheart is a real player." Draco said as he took a step closer to her.

Hermione smiled. "Yeah, and she is also a real dedicated student, who has to get to class on time." She said as she took a step towards the door.

"Oh, you're no fun." Draco huffed.

Hermione laughed, walked over to him, stood on her tip-toes and planted a soft kiss on his pouting lips.

"There's a time and place for everything." She said to him.

"Oh yeah?" Draco asked as he walked with her out the door, making sure that there was no one in the hallway.

"Of course, and sadly, right now it's time for class."

"Sadly, it is." Draco sighed dramatically.

Hermione laughed. "I'll see you at lunch." Hermione said to him as she made her way down the hallway.

Draco nodded. "See you." He called after her as he walked the other way, whistling softly to himself, and thinking how whipped he was.

**I know, I know. I took ages to update, so feel free to yell at me all you want. Truth is, this is one of the chapters I have suffered with the most. I just couldn't figure out how to write it out. Want to know a secret? The whole, Draco-takes-Hermione-into-an-empty-classroom-to-snog-her-senseless was a last minute thing. But I figured, what the hell, might as well have a little fun. **

**So tell me what you thought =] **

**But Anyhoo, I know I have stopped replying to your reviews, but I'm in such a happy mood since this chapter is finally done, that I will reply to all of them. =] **

**LavenderSpice – **sorry about the cliffhanger, actually, I'm not really sorry about that, I'm sorry I took so long to update =[ I'm glad you liked the chapter, and yes, I agree! They are wonderful together. Thanks for the review, and for reading of course.

**Kat.1600 – **I'm really glad you liked it. =]

**earthgoddess36 – **That sucks, your boyfriends living so far away, no matter how sex crazed he is. xD I love Draco too. The things he says, well I mostly make him say it because to me it sounds a bit genuine, you know, and although Draco is very astute, I do believe he has his natural moments. And Hermione has yet to explain to her friends, wonder how that will come out. Thanks for the review!

**Sectumsempraaa! – **Yeah, the first chapter did seem to catch everyone's attention. ;) I'm glad you're loving it, and thank you, it's always nice to hear compliments as such. =]

**LovingBlackParadise – **now sex, hmm… lol, yes, it would have been rather awesome if they would have ended up having sex. However, I did rate this story T and as much as I would have enjoyed writing out the Lemon, it wouldn't be fair to my readers if I changed the rating. So it stays like that for now. xD thanks for the review, and I'm glad you enjoyed their reaction.

**MysteryShadow101 – **I'm glad you liked the chapter so much, and hope this one was worth the wait. =] thanks for reading and reviewing.

**Rebecca – **Yeah, rather weird for her. But part of my story is dedicated to showing how they change throughout their relationship. ;) I'm glad you are loving the whole story!

**Cornilia243 – **It's alright, as long as you review. =] thank you, and I hope you keep on reading.

**Gryfferin Princess – **lol, another person who hoped for a sex scene? Lol. Yeah well, it might happen. Who knows. ;) thanks for reviewing, and shame on you and your not clean mind. Lol.

**BFFofCrazyShopoholicPixe-Alice**** – **Thanks thanks thanks! Lol. Love ur name! Thanks for the review.

**Mysterissister - **I'm sorry I took so long, and the explaining part has yet to get here. Thanks for the review =]

**Soumz13 – **I like you. Lol. Thank you so, so much for all your compliments. The fact that you ignored your mother because of the story truly means a lot to me. Lol. I'm sorry I took so long, but I hope this chapter made up for it. even if not many things happen, we saw a bit of Hermione and Draco! And I'm glad I got your first long review! Lol

**Puppyluv13 – **lol. I'm glad you liked it! personally, I wasn't a fan of Hermione and Draco either. It just never occurred to me. I was a Harry/Hermione shipper, well, supporter. Then my friend, she, introduced me to the fanfiction world, but in Spanish. I began to read Hermione/Draco because she did. Then I said.. hmm, let's read in English, so I did. And then I liked Draco/Hermione a lot, and then I decided to write my own story. I don't know why I told you all of that, but I did. Lol. Thanks for reading, and the review!

**Faenea – **cliffhangers are the best, if the next chapter is updated quickly, or else, they suck. Lol. I'm terribly sorry. Lol. Shame on you, for reading at work. Tsk tsk. I cant have that in my conscience. Lol. But alright, since you reviewed, I will not tell on you, =] thank you for reading.

**CheekySweetChic – **thank you! It means the world to me to have people say that. thank you so, so much.

**So there you go, my dear readers. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this =] thank you for reading, and double thank you to those of you who reviewed. **

**So now go review this chapter. Come on, click on the review this story/chapter botton. Come on, I dare you. I know you want to ;) **

**Until later, **

**Yours, **

**Leilygurl**


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